My must read of the day is "Immigration Bill's Fate Murky on Eve of Lobbying," in the New York Times:
Prospects for comprehensive immigration legislation this year grew murkier on the eve of an all-out push by a coalition of business, religious and law enforcement to convince the House to overhaul the decades-old system.
Proponents seized on two developments as a Senate-passed measure remains stalled in the House — President Barack Obama's meeting at the White House on Tuesday with a House Republican working on legislation and a California GOP lawmaker's willingness to back a House Democratic plan.
But in a blow to their effort, Sen. Marco Rubio signaled support for the piecemeal approach in the House despite his months of work and vote for the comprehensive Senate bill that would provide a path to citizenship for the 11 million immigrants living here illegally and tighten border security.
Comprehensive immigration was dead before it even passed the Senate in June.
There is a desire to have some sort of immigration reform in the House. There are at least five bills in House committees, from the Judiciary Committee to the Homeland Security Committee. But, for House Republicans, the approach has always been piecemeal. They haven’t acted as though comprehensive immigration reform, including amnesty, was something they seriously considered.
Sen. Rubio isn’t folding by supporting a piecemeal approach. He’s adapting. No matter how badly supporters want to see comprehensive immigration reform pass, it’s not happening in this Congress. It’s pragmatic leadership to rework a failing tactic.
Democrats will criticize Rubio for this, and some Republicans may as well, but they’ll be criticizing him for doing the very thing Sen. Cruz was mocked for failing to consider during his efforts to defund Obamacare. Rubio’s done the math.