Cooper Says Immigration Reform Can Still Happen
Cooper Says Immigration Reform Can Still Happen
During an AS/COA immigration forum in Nashville, U.S. Representative Jim Cooper advised immigrant activists to use the "window of opportunity" and lobby House members to pass a reform.
It's not unusual for U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper to lament the wrongheadedness of the group he's been a member of for the past 11 years, but he was even pithier than usual Friday.
"Congress is crazy, but I'm not," Cooper told a conference that focused on immigration's role in Nashville's success.
It sounds like Cooper may have finally boiled his political manifesto down to its purest essence. But he also sees a chance for Congress to be sane, not crazy, when it comes to immigration.
The Nashville Democrat said Congress has failed to pass major immigration reform legislation since 1986, and the House of Representatives has been "missing in action" since the Senate voted for a comprehensive reform bill last June.
But Cooper proceeded to sing the praises of many of his colleagues in the House, which hasn't even allowed a vote on the bill. He said there's still a chance they'll take the immigration baton from the Senate and run with it — if the timing is right....
