Rep. Steve Israel and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi: Rep. Steve Israel's comments are in line with those from House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi earlier this week, in which she blamed racial issues for Republicans' failure to act on comprehensive immigration legislation. Asked about Pelosi's comments, New York's Israel said he agreed with her assessment, according to Times Colonist. Frustration is mounting among the House's Democratic minority and immigration activists about Republicans' refusal to act on a far-reaching immigration bill passed by the Senate last year with bipartisan support. The Senate bill would provide a path to citizenship for the estimated 11 million immigrants living in the country illegally and tighten border security and An overhaul to the broken U.S. immigration system remains stalled because "the Republican base does have elements that are animated by racism," the head of the committee to elect Democratic lawmakers to the House said Sunday. "To a significant extent, the Republican base does have elements that are animated by racism. And that's unfortunate," said Israel, who heads the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.