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J. Scott Applewhite / AP

House Speaker John Boehner is trying to corral his Republican conference on how to raise the debt ceiling.

House Speaker John Boehner said Thursday that he cant see a path forward on immigration reform and asked President Barack Obama to do more on the issue. Translation: The House isnt going to pass immigration reform this year but dont blame Republicans, blame Obama.

Listen, theres widespread doubt about whether this administration can be trusted to enforce our laws, Boehner said, citing Obamas administrative changes to the new health care reform law and his pledge to use executive orders to get around congressional logjams. Its going to be difficult to move any immigration legislation until that changes.

Just last week, Obama and Boehner had struck much more hopeful notes on immigration reform. The president purposefully didnt call out the GOP for inaction on a comprehensive Senate bill passed last year. And House Republican leaders released a set of principles that the president hailed as a promising start to potential negotiations.

So what changed in the past week? Here are five reasons why immigration reform is going nowhere fast in Washington.

The 2014 midterm elections

While roughly 60 percent of the House Republican conference expressed support for the leadership teams principles, there was not support for acting in an election year. Too many members worried that potential Tea Party primary opponents, or Democrats in November, could use their votes on immigration against them.

Trust

As Boehner noted, many his members felt they couldnt trust the president to negotiate in good faith, especially after his State of the Union promise to issue executive orders when Congress doesnt act. Obama already effectively imposed by executive order part of the DREAM Act in 2012, when he granted temporary legal status to undocumented immigrants who were brought to the country as children. Republicans worried he might skirt border security provisions in any potential deal that might pass Congress.

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Immigration Reform Is Dead