Gosar: Immigration Reform Not A Priority

By Al Macias
Published: Thursday, October 17, 2013 - 6:04pm

With the government shutdown now settled, at least temporarily, President Barack Obama says he would like Congress to tackle immigration reform.  The Senate passed an immigration bill in July but it has languished in the House of Representatives.

Arizona Republican Congressman Paul Gosar says he doesn’t see the immigration bill as a priority.

"I think we ought to be focusing on the budget, and making sure all hands are on deck. We still have a $17 trillion debt going forward," Gosar said. "The immigration bill coming out of the Senate is dead on arrival, and even some of the people trying to come up with some of the core components on the house side, Raul Labrador, told the president, that’s not going to rock, not going to fly in this environment."

Gosar said he and other Republican members could support immigration reform, but in smaller separate bills, not the sweeping reforms approved by the Senate.