Participants rally to support immigration in Washington, D.C.
Even Speaker John Boehner has said publicly that immigration reform is on his agenda for 2013.
"It's time to get the job done," Boehner said.
And there will be a financial incentive to make immigration reform a priority on Capitol Hill. Republican strategists Carlos Gutierrez and Charles Spies launched a new Super PAC this week, which will incentivize leaders in Congress to move forward on comprehensive immigration reform.
"The election was extremely close, but with the changing demographics, the same election in four years or eight years would not be close," Spies says. "I believe that we have to engage and have to be the leaders on comprehensive immigration reform. The unfortunate thing over the last eight years is that Democrats have been able to take the issue away from us when in fact President George W. Bush was one of the leaders in immigration reform."
[Related: How the Latino Vote Will Shape Future Housing Policy]
Spies says the Super PAC is in the midst of developing its political plan, but he envisions the PAC will support Republican candidates in primary and general election races for the House and the Senate who lead on immigration.
"We as Republicans believe in pro-growth economics, and we have a good story to tell the Latino community about economic empowerment," Spies says. "We want to encourage more great leaders like Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, and Bobby Jindal to share the message."
- Allen West Concedes Congressional Race
- Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. Still Has Capitol Hill Allies, but Support is Waning
- Norquist: Boehner—Not White House—Holds Power in Fiscal Cliff Talks
Lauren Fox is a political reporter for U.S. News and World Report. You can follow her on Twitter or reach her at lfox@usnews.com.
Reader Comments (