Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Calif.
Faith leaders in communities where the Hispanic population is low need to talk to Republican House members about the importance of immigration reform, Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Calif., said today.

In a speech to the United Fresh Produce Association, Denham noted, “The biggest issue for me and you, but not for many of my colleagues, is immigration.”

While specialty crop growing areas like his own district have large Hispanic populations and an understanding of growers’ needs for labor, many of his Republican House colleagues have less than 1 percent Hispanic population and do not see Hispanic people or immigration reform advocates at their town hall meetings, Denham said.

“A lot of members don’t feel it like I do — they don’t feel it every day,” Denham said, noting that many members don’t want to deal with the immigration reform issue until the leadership brings it up.

“We have to get to those members,” he said. “I am encouraging the faith-based community to go out to every district. We have to get them to focus.”

Denham said that he favors a path to citizenship, and supports “the basic structure of the Senate bill,” but called the border security section of the bill “really flawed.”

He also said he is not willing to leave the decision about what to implement up to President Barack Obama or any other president.

Border security is the first priority for both parties and for Obama, Denham said, but he added that everyone needs to move beyond security and figure out how to handle the 11.5 million undocumented people who are already in the country.

Forty percent of them came into the U.S. on legal visas, he noted, adding that there are also 2.5 million children who were brought across the border by their parents and are still here. Those young people, Denham said, ought to be able to join the U.S military and be eligible for citizenship just as foreigners have been welcomed into the military for generations.

Most bills that come up in Congress have deadlines, Denham added, but immigration reform does not. The House leadership has “slotted” immigration reform for this fall, he said, “but I guarantee if there is another Syria, another issue, it will get pushed into next year.”

Denham told the group, “Thank you for being here, but keep it up. If we are not the loudest group around here in Washington, D.C., it will not get done this year.”