House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi says immigration reform is the right thing for congressional Republicans �if they ever want to win a presidential race.�
The wide-ranging immigration bill approved by the Democratic-controlled Senate last week faces tough opposition in the Republican-controlled House. In the Senate, 14 Republicans joined all Democratic senators and independents in the 68-32 vote.
In an interview that aired Sunday on NBC�s �Meet the Press,� Pelosi linked GOP support for the immigration overhaul with future success of Republicans in political races, particularly for the White House.
�We wouldn�t even be where we are right now had it not been that 70 percent of Hispanics voted for President Obama, voted Democratic in the last election,� she said. �That caused an epiphany in the Senate, that�s for sure. So, all of a sudden now, we have already passed comprehensive immigration reform in the Senate. That�s a big victory.�
Pelosi said she believes that members of Congress will do what�s right for the country when it comes to approving immigration reform. �And it�s certainly right for the Republicans if they ever want to win a presidential race,� she said.
Pelosi said senators know it�s important to have Hispanics and other immigrant populations support them and that she hopes senators will be able to persuade their House colleagues to vote for the immigration bill.
�But I think there are enough, there are enough,� she said.
(AP)
