CHICAGO - Illinois' Congressman Luis Gutierrez (IL-04) says he's sure there's 40 to 50 Republicans that support immigration reform including a pathway to citizenship, although he wasn't willing to share their names with the Washington Post.
“If they ask me today, go find those 40 to 50 Republicans, I’ll tell them I found them. I know where they’re at,” Gutierrez said in an interview with Ed O’Keefe at the Washington Post.
“I’m not going to tell you the names of some of them. Because some of them I’ve spoken to, and they’ve said I’d love to do the activity with you. I want to be able to vote for it. I really don’t need to draw attention to myself.”
Gutierrez appeared with Republican Congressman Paul Ryan (W-01) at the City Club of Chicago earlier this summer, talking up the need for comprehensive immigration reform. Ryan joined Gutierrez at a rally sponsored by Illinois' most radical immigrants' rights group, Illinois Coalition for Immigrants and Refugees Rights (ICIRR).
This week in talks around the state, Republican Congressmen Aaron Schock (IL-17) and Adam Kinzinger (IL-16) hinted they were willing to consider immigration legislation that includes a pathway to citizenship, what other refer to as "amnesty" for those who've entered America illegally.
Immigration advocates are circulating this video of Schock addressing the topic in a town hall in his Illinois district this week as proof some of the more conservative Congress members are softening in their stance:
Congressman Adam Kinzinger (IL-16) voiced his opinion on the House floor during an immigration discussion in July. Kinzinger's comments leave many questions about how he would vote on the current proposal working its way through the House:
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