Anyone who reads our blog knows that we follow the push for immigration reform quite closely. Unfortunately, not much has happened with immigration recently, as the House of Representatives refuses to take the issue up. Sadly, there are some who believe that immigration reform just won’t happen in the final two years of the Obama administration after House Majority Leader Eric Canton’s loss in his primary election. As someone who supported immigration reform, albeit halfheartedly, many conservatives are now scared to touch the issue.
While he is not a politician, conservative business leader Rupert Murdoch has made it quite clear that he is behind immigration reform. Not only does he want to see better business immigration, but he is also calling for a pathway to citizenship for the millions of immigrants living in the country without visas. This has historically been where conservatives draw the line at immigration reform.
Granted, Murdoch does not want anyone who is here without a visa to be given the opportunity to naturalize as a citizen. First, he only wants those who are already in the country to have the chance to naturalize. He also wants a more secure border, which would ostensibly prevent more immigrants from coming across the border without a visa. Finally, he wants any immigrant who goes down this pathway to citizenship to have to go through a background check.
Though Murdoch would prefer that Congress pass immigration reform, he does not want President Obama to rule out the possibility of executive action should it fail to act.
Source: MSNBC, “Rupert Murdoch pushes for immigration reform,” Jane C. Timm, June 19, 2014