WASHINGTON -- House Republicans met behind closed doors Thursday in an effort to come together on immigration. Some moderates, meanwhile, are looking to force debate on several immigration bills.

  • House Republicans met on immigration
  • No compromise among moderates, conservatives reached
  • Moderates forcing issue with discharge petition

"The best we can do is basically make sure that we exhaust the possibilities of coming together as a House Republican conference to bring a bill to a floor that everyone can support," said House Speaker Paul Ryan.

Ryan is pushing for a compromise agreement on immigration, hoping to head off moderates who plan to use a special procedure to force a vote. 

The group of moderates are getting representatives behind a discharge petition, which essentially allow a coalition of Democrats and Republicans to go around House Republican leadership. 

Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Lakeland who is retiring at the end of this term, is one of a handful of Republicans who is considering signing the petition.

"I've been here eight years," Ross said. "This has always been a self-perpetuating issue because we don't tackle it."

Those who want to sign the petition are calling for citizenship for DACA recipients, better known as the Dreamers. Conservatives, meanwhile, want border wall funding and limits to legal immigration.

"I don't want to have to do this," Ross said. "I believe in process. But I also know when there's been a logjam and nothing will flow, we've got to break that log jam. Unfortunately, this discharge petition may be the only way."

As the meeting ended Thursday, lawmakers filed out of the room with no clear deal in sight.

Moderate Republicans are now saying they will hold off on adding additional signatures to the discharge petition until Tuesday, buying GOP leadership a bit more time to craft a formal proposal.

"We’re not backing down," said Rep. Jeff Denham, R-California. "We hope to have an agreement within our Republican conference, but the speaker is well aware that Tuesday is our deadline."

The main sticking point in negotiations appears to be over the issue of granting Dreamers citizenship.

The big question now is, will House GOP leadership make any concessions to moderates that are not included within the president's immigration framework?

Democrats were not part of the immigration meeting Thursday, but one Democrat we talked to is not hopeful.

"I have no confidence the GOP is going to come to a conclusion," said Rep. Darren Soto, D-Kissimmee. "Which is why we are forcing this through a discharge petition with the several dozen GOP members who are with us."

If the discharge petition gets the needed signatures before June 12, the immigration debate could go to the House floor as early as June 25.