House Republicans, Defying Leaders, Move to Force Immigration Votes
WASHINGTON — More than a dozen House Republicans defied Speaker Paul D. Ryan on Wednesday and moved to force a vote on immigration in the House, aiming to settle the uncertain futures of so-called Dreamers, young immigrants who were brought to this country illegally as children.
The group is gathering signatures for a so-called discharge petition, a parliamentary maneuver that could be used to circumvent Mr. Ryan by bringing legislation to the House floor with the support of a majority of members. The party out of power uses such petitions often, but they rarely succeed because a signature from a member of the party in power is seen as a betrayal of leadership.
This time around, 15 Republicans had signed as of Wednesday afternoon.
“We are well aware that the speaker’s preference was not to have this process,” said Representative Carlos Curbelo, Republican of Florida, who introduced the petition Wednesday morning. “I’ve made the argument to the speaker personally that this process actually empowers him.”
If eleven more Republicans sign on, along with all House Democrats, the group will be able to revive an immigration debate that had appeared all but dead. Its goal is to force debate on four immigration-related measures, including one of the speaker’s choosing. The measure that got the most votes would be adopted, so long as it received a majority of the votes.
Mr. Ryan has said repeatedly that he is opposed to the strategy and asked the group’s leaders not to pursue it.
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