The House of Representative's immigration bill made progress this week, with three house Republicans signing on to the House Democrats' immigration bill. The three Republican signatures come after intensified lobbying efforts by immigration reform advocates.
Rep. David Valadao (R-Calif.) announced Wednesday that he has signed the H.R.15 bill, along with Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), The Huffington Post confirms. The bill currently has 190 co-sponsors, which is short of the 218 needed to get a majority in the House.
"I have been working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to find common ground on the issue of immigration reform," Valadao said in a statement. "Recently, I have focused my efforts on joining with likeminded Republicans in organizing and demonstrating to Republican Leadership broad support within the Party to address immigration reform in the House by the end of the year."
"By supporting H.R. 15 I am strengthening my message: Addressing immigration reform in the House cannot wait," Valadao added. "I am serious about making real progress and will remain committed to doing whatever it takes to repair our broken immigration system."
A majority of House Democrats are co-sponsoring the legislation, and supporters of the bill argue that more Republicans should sign the bill to pressure leadership to bring it for a vote. GOP leaders have not allowed a vote on the comprehensive immigration reform bill that passed in the Senate this June, and said that H.R.15 will not get a vote unless a majority of Republicans are behind it.
The immigration bill is the only comprehensive immigration legislation currently in the House. The House legislation is based on the Senate-passed bill and a border security measure approved earlier in the year by the House Homeland Security Committee. Both passed with bipartisan support. The bill includes a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants in conjunction with upping border security measures and making changes to the legal immigration system.
Valadao represents the 21st Congressional District, which includes Kings County and portions of Kern, Tulare and Fresno counties. His district has a large Latino population, which is a main motive for his support of the bill.
Rep. Joe Garcia (D-Fla.), the bill's main sponsor, praised Valadao's decision to sign the bill.
"I appreciate Congressman Valadao's willingness to work with both sides of the aisle on comprehensive immigration reform," Garcia said in a statement. "With his support and help, I look forward to strengthening our nation's immigration system."
Immigration reform groups have been intensifying their lobbying efforts to get congress members to pass the bill, Arizona Central confirms. Pro-reform business, religious and law-enforcement leaders converged on Capital Hill this week to press lawmakers to act.
Immigration reform advocates have also visited congressional offices and held prayer vigils outside lawmakers' homes.
Lobbying efforts will most likely continue, considering the recalcitrance of many hardline Republicans.
Although the bill has gained three Republican supporters, 20 to 40 members of Boehner's GOP conference have made it explicitly clear that they will not vote for a bill that they believe offers "amnesty" to undocumented immigrants.