Early rift over immigration exposes House GOP’s tough path to consensus

Republicans won’t bring an immigration bill to the floor this week after members raised concerns about its scope and the process.

House Republicans’ attempt to bring a border security bill to the floor as early as this week was thwarted after backlash from more moderate Republicans, delaying not only a pledge Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) made to a handful of lawmakers but also the fulfillment of a key campaign promise to a Republican base eager for tougher immigration laws.

The bill, introduced by Rep. Chip Roy (R-Tex.) and co-sponsored by 58 Republicans, would empower the Homeland Security secretary — currently Alejandro Mayorkas — to unilaterally bar all undocumented migrants from entering the United States through any point of entry if the secretary deems it necessary to reestablish “operational control” of the border. If immigration agencies cannot, for any reason, process undocumented migrants according to legal procedures, a similar response by the secretary would be required. If the secretary does not follow through, the bill would provide state attorneys general the authority to sue the federal government.

But the scope of the three-page bill has rattled dozens of House Republicans, many of whom worry it would prevent migrants and unaccompanied children fleeing violence from seeking asylum in the United States

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