HOUSE OF REPS/IMMIGRATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “House Republicans will push ahead this week with a vote on their own compromise immigration bill that still faces long odds in the chamber despite last-minute delays and a rush to make changes. Over the weekend, aides and members worked to see if they might be able to include a provision to expand E-verify, a program the US government uses to check the immigration status of workers, as well as a guest worker visa program. But, there was little evidence that the changes would be enough to get the bill passed. House Republicans seemed to be losing momentum late last week after President Donald Trump tweeted Friday [6-22-18] that he thought the House GOP conference should wait to address immigration until after the midterms and stop ‘wasting their time.’ The reality for the House conference — and Republican lawmakers in general — is that the politics of immigration have not changed. Long an issue that has revealed partisan schisms within their ranks, Republicans are still at odds. Moderates back a path to citizenship for individuals who were brought to the US illegally as children. Conservatives have been wary of signing onto anything that can be construed by their base as ‘amnesty.’ And, that’s just the beginning. Divisions over legal immigration numbers, guest worker programs and even E-verify have crippled the party from solving the problem countless times before.”
-Lauren Fox, “House Republicans worked all weekend but still not clear if the votes are there for immigration bill,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, June 25, 2018 6:13 am