Advocates for comprehensive immigration reform are claiming victory in the August recess. Their argument? They won because they didn’t lose.
With legislation stalled in the Republican-controlled House, the push to overhaul the immigration system has not dominated the national headlines or evening news during the four weeks that Congress has been taking its annual summer vacation.
Despite efforts by Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) and others, that dynamic hasn’t materialized.
“What’s more important than what we have seen is what we haven’t seen,” said Jeremy Robbins, director of the Partnership for a New American Economy, a group co-founded by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg that is advocating for immigration reform. “August was a resounding win for us.”