Don't Worry, Immigration Reform Still Isn't Happening

At a Las Vegas conference on Thursday, President Obama's senior advisor Valerie Jarrett said that the White House has "a commitment from Speaker Boehner" on immigration reform. This surprised a few conservatives

At a Las Vegas conference on Thursday, President Obama's senior advisor Valerie Jarrett said that the White House has "a commitment from Speaker Boehner" on immigration reform. "I think we have a window this summer, between now and August, to get something done," she said. This surprised a few conservatives.

Pro tip: if you want to kill immigration reform have Valerie jarrett talk about a "committment from the spkr for a vote

— Jim Manley (@jamespmanley) May 16, 2014

Immigration reform is all but dead in the House, because John Boehner knows the Tea Party won't go for the bipartisan reform bill that the Senate passed last year. After Jarrett's comments were released, conservative outlets like Breitbart and World Net Daily began accusing Boehner of promoting amnesty.

Before Boehner could get hauled off and thrown in the Potomac, his staff released a statement insisting that Boehner does not have a deal with the White House:

Republicans are committed to reforming our immigration system, but as the speaker has said repeatedly, it’s difficult to see how we make progress until the American people have faith that President Obama will enforce the law as written.

Jarrett confirmed that she was misunderstood at the conference.

.@chucktodd lost in translation-- I said Boehner has made commitment to trying, not that he has made commitment to us or time frame.

— Valerie Jarrett (@vj44) May 16, 2014

Phew, everyone can relax now. Congress isn't doing anything.