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House Speaker John Boehner and his Republican leadership team are telling donors and industry groups that they want to pass immigration legislation this year, despite the reluctance of other party members to tackle the divisive issue before the November elections.
Many lawmakers and activists have assumed the issue was off the table in an election year. But Boehner, R-Ohio, said at a recent Las Vegas fundraiser that he was "hell-bent on getting this done this year," two people in the room told The Wall Street Journal.
A Boehner spokesman didn't dispute the account but said no action is possible until President Obama proves himself a trustworthy partner to Republicans.
The news follows House Majority Leader Eric Cantor saying Wednesday after talking to Obama that the GOP-led chamber will not pass the immigration legislation passed this past summer by the Democrat-controlled Senate that includes a path to citizenship for millions of people living illegally in the United States. Critics of the plan say it is tantamount to amnesty.