Boehner indicates no room for Ted Cruz border plan in House bill

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) indicated Thursday that the House will not be considering legislative language to prevent President Barack Obama from expanding his deferred deportation policy, which some Republicans want to see as a condition of approving new funding to ease the crisis at the southern U.S. border.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has said he wants to see Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy defunded, and says that policy is precisely why about 60,000 illegal immigrant children have tried to cross into the U.S. this year.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is pushing to end President Barack Obama's deferred deportation policy, but House GOP leaders indicate they will not consider his language. (AP Photo, J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) proposed a House version of that bill just this week. She told TheBlaze that Republicans need to use the leverage they have over Obama on immigration to push for an end to DACA.

But Boehner told reporters that he's focused on passing proposals that a GOP working group on immigration came up with this week, which don't include the Cruz-Blackburn idea.

"I'm focused on the recommendations of our border control working group, and we're operating within those guidelines," Boehner said.

Boehner's comments indicate he could have trouble drumming up GOP support for any bill GOP leaders try to move. Many Republicans say DACA is a major cause of the flood of immigrant children, and must be reversed — otherwise, Congress will only be throwing more money at a problem that will continue to grow.

DACA is also creating work authorization for people who entered the country illegally, and some Republicans fear a similar program could be created for illegal immigrant adults.

The border bill already appears to be stalled, as Boehner told reporters that Obama's resistance to changing a key immigration law has created a real stumbling block in Congress.

The immigration principles released by Boehner's working group include measures like changing the law to allow for faster deportations of children, sending the National Guard to the border, and several other steps.