Labrador: Immigration reform faces narrowing window in 2013

Immigration is getting crunched by events, such as congressional votes on a military strike on Syria, extending the debt ceiling, and funding the federal government. And the votes don’t yet exist to pass a reform package that would legalize undocumented immigrants, Rep. Raúl Labrador said this week.

“We don’t know exactly when we’re going to be able to have this debate,” Labrador (Idaho) told Univision news anchor Jorge Ramos, during a Spanish-language interview that will air on “Al Punto” this Sunday. “A lot of us thought that the debate was going to be in October, but now, with the problems that we’re having internationally and also here in this country, I don’t see how we’re going to be able to have this debate until November. And I really don’t know if it will be possible to do it in November.” …

Labrador believes if immigration reform does not pass in 2013, it’s even less likely to do so next year because of the looming mid-term elections.

“I think that if we don’t do it now, in 2013, it’s not going to be–it’s not going to happen in 2014,” he said. “And that means that we’re going to have to wait until 2015. So now, that time is — it’s becoming a lot shorter.”