Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., believes Congress will back an immigration reform plan agreed upon by both President Barack Obama and members of the Senate.
In an interview with Univision that is scheduled to air Sunday, McCain said he is “cautiously optimistic that with the President and the Senate basically acting together that that would be sufficient to have the House, to agree with that, if it’s reasonable with the majority of the American people.”
When asked what he thought might happen if the House voted against immigration reform, McCain hinted at the repercussions of such a result.
“Well, I hate to obviously predict what might happen,” he said.
“But I think you, I know what you’re referring to, and that is the election results with a smaller number of our Hispanic/Latino citizens that are voting for Republicans.
“We understand that.”
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McCain is a member of the eight-man bipartisan group of senators that unveiled a framework for passing immigration reform last month.
While both parties have expressed genuine interest in passing a reform bill, a significant sticking point hindering any progress has been whether or not to include a pathway to citizenship for immigrants living in the country illegally.
The immigration framework crafted by the bipartisan group does include a pathway to citizenship on the condition that border security is strengthened first.
McCain may have faith in Congress, but his optimism waned when asked if he thought there will be enough votes in the Senate to pass a reform bill that features a pathway to citizenship.
“You know, I don’t know yet, because we haven’t finished the package,” he said.
“I know that the attitude of the American people is that, and I think that there’s a realization on my side of the aisle that we need to have this resolved. And that people should have a pathway to citizenship.
“But look, I’ve lost before and so for me to predict would be premature.
“But I do think that the attitude overall of the American people and members of the Senate is significantly improved to the point where I am cautiously optimistic.”
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