WASHINGTON -- Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.), who was the first GOP House member to sign on to a Democrat-led comprehensive immigration reform bill, said Thursday that the effort shouldn't be declared dead yet.

In fact, he said, three additional members from both parties will announce their support for that bill in the next couple of days, with more to come next week. At the same time, he and five other Republicans are talking to fellow GOP members to get 40 to 45 more to sign a letter supporting immigration reform in general.

House Republican leadership has said the Democrat-led bill, H.R. 15, won't go for a vote. Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) ruled out a vote on Senate-passed reform legislation months ago, and reaffirmed on Wednesday that he will not allow that bill to be combined with House legislation. Although Boehner said he still wants to pursue immigration reform, he indicated it's unlikely there will be any votes by the end of the year.

Denham said during an event Thursday for think tank NDN -- which supports immigration reform -- that he blames both sides for the past failure of comprehensive immigration reform. But he had harsh words for GOP members who criticized other plans without suggesting their own.

"You're elected to be a leader. Then lead," he said of fellow members of Congress. "Show us what you're for, show us what you don't like, but we've got to come to a resolution that makes sense for the entire country, and we need to have a debate in front of the American public."

-snip-

More more here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/14/house-republican-immigration_n_4276748.html