Mia Love defends working with Democrats to force immigration vote

by Pete Kasperowicz
June 05, 2018 08:54 AM at the Washington Examiner

Rep. Mia Love, R-Utah, on Tuesday defended her decision to work with Democrats to force a House vote on a series of immigration bills, an effort her Republican leaders are working to thwart.

“To me, it was all about getting a bill to the floor,” she said on Fox News. “Any of the bills, one of the bills, it didn’t matter.”

“I was so frustrated that we weren’t actually doing our job,” she added. “Our job is to create a uniform rule of naturalization, not leaving it to the White House, not doing executive orders, but for us to do something.”

Love and several other Republicans have signed a discharge petition that would do an end-run around GOP leaders, and call up a series of immigration bills on the floor. President Trump has indicated he is only interested in a bill to fund border security and the border wall, end chain migration, end the diversity visa lottery, and help Dreamers who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children.

The discharge petition would bring up other bills that Trump and GOP leaders don’t support, but Love said the House should vote on as many ideas as possible to try to advance the issue. She said doing nothing is not an option.

“When we were talking to leadership about getting a bill and working the bill, we weren’t getting anywhere.”

READ MORE