Senators reach agreement on immigration reform
WASHINGTON (AP) - A bipartisan group of leading senators has reached agreement on the principles for a sweeping overhaul of the nation's immigration laws, including a path to citizenship for the 11 million illegal immigrants already in this country.
The deal, to be announced at a news conference Monday, also covers border security, non-citizen or "guest" workers and employer verification of immigration status.
Although thorny details remain to be negotiated and success is far from certain, the development heralds the start of what could be the most significant effort in years toward overhauling the nation's inefficient patchwork of immigration laws.
President Barack Obama also is committed to enacting comprehensive immigration legislation and will travel to Nevada on Tuesday to lay out his vision, which is expected to overlap in important ways with the Senate effort.
Passage of legislation by the full Democratic-controlled Senate is far from assured, but the tallest hurdle could come in the House, which is dominated by conservative Republicans who've shown little interest in immigration reform.
Still, with some Republicans chastened by the November elections which demonstrated the importance of Latino voters and their increasing commitment to Democrats, some in the GOP say this time will be different.
"What's changed, honestly, is that there is a new, I think, appreciation on both sides of the aisle - including maybe more importantly on the Republican side of the aisle - that we have to enact a comprehensive immigration reform bill," Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said Sunday on ABC's "This Week."
"I think the time is right," McCain said.
Besides McCain, the senators expected to endorse the new principles Monday are Democrats Charles Schumer of New York, Dick Durbin of Illinois, Robert Menendez of New Jersey and Michael Bennet of Colorado; and Republicans Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Marco Rubio of Florida and Jeff Flake of Arizona.
Several of these lawmakers have worked for years on the issue. McCain collaborated with the late Democratic Sen. Edward M. Kennedy on comprehensive immigration legislation pushed by then-President George W. Bush in 2007, only to see it collapse in the Senate when it couldn't get enough GOP support.
The group claims a notable newcomer in Rubio, a potential 2016 presidential candidate whose conservative bona fides may help smooth the way for support among conservatives wary of anything that smacks of amnesty. In an opinion piece published Sunday in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Rubio wrote that the existing system amounts to "de facto amnesty," and he called for "commonsense reform."
According to documents obtained by The Associated Press, the senators will call for accomplishing four goals:
-Creating a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants already here, contingent upon securing the border and better tracking of people here on visas.
-Reforming the legal immigration system, including awarding green cards to immigrants who obtain advanced degrees in science, math, technology or engineering from an American university.
-Creating an effective employment verification system to ensure that employers do not hire illegal immigrants in the future, including requiring prospective workers to verify legal status and identity through a non-forgeable electronic system.
-Allowing more low-skill workers into the country and allowing employers to hire immigrants if they can demonstrate they couldn't recruit a U.S. citizen; and establishing an agricultural worker program.
The principles being released Monday are outlined on just over four pages, leaving plenty of details left to fill in. What the senators do call for is similar to Obama's goals and some past efforts by Democrats and Republicans, since there's wide agreement in identifying problems with the current immigration system. The most difficult disagreement is likely to arise over how to accomplish the path to citizenship.
In order to satisfy the concerns of Rubio and other Republicans, the senators are calling for the completion of steps on border security and oversight of those here on visas before taking major steps forward on the path to citizenship.
Even then, those here illegally would have to pass background checks and pay fines and taxes in order to qualify for a "probationary legal status" that would allow them to live and work here - but not qualify for federal benefits - before being able to apply for permanent residency, a critical step toward citizenship. Once they are allowed to apply they would do so behind everyone else already in line for a green card within the current immigration system.
That could be a highly cumbersome process, but how to make it more workable is being left to future negotiations. The senators envision a more streamlined process toward citizenship for immigrants brought here as children, and for agricultural workers.
The American Civil Liberties Union said in a statement that the framework agreed on by the senators could provide important protections for illegal immigrants who are exploited by employers and live in "constant fear" over their immigration status.
But the ACLU took issue with the proposal to require employers to use an electronic employment-verification system, calling it "a thinly disguised national ID requirement" that would undermine employees' privacy and lead to discrimination against those "who look or sound 'foreign.'"
The debate will play out at the start of Obama's second term, as he aims to spend the political capital afforded him by his re-election victory on an issue that has eluded past presidents and stymied him during his first term despite his promises to the Latino community to act.
"As the president has made clear for some time, immigration reform is an important priority and he is pleased that progress is being made with bipartisan support," a White House spokesman, Clark Stevens, said in a statement. "At the same time, he will not be satisfied until there is meaningful reform and he will continue to urge Congress to act until that is achieved."
For Republicans, the November elections were a stark schooling on the importance of Latino voters, who voted for Obama over Republican Mitt Romney 71 percent to 27 percent, helping ensure Obama's victory. That led some Republican leaders to conclude that supporting immigration reform with a path to citizenship has become a political imperative.
The deal, to be announced at a news conference Monday, also covers border security, non-citizen or "guest" workers and employer verification of immigration status.
Although thorny details remain to be negotiated and success is far from certain, the development heralds the start of what could be the most significant effort in years toward overhauling the nation's inefficient patchwork of immigration laws.
President Barack Obama also is committed to enacting comprehensive immigration legislation and will travel to Nevada on Tuesday to lay out his vision, which is expected to overlap in important ways with the Senate effort.
Passage of legislation by the full Democratic-controlled Senate is far from assured, but the tallest hurdle could come in the House, which is dominated by conservative Republicans who've shown little interest in immigration reform.
Still, with some Republicans chastened by the November elections which demonstrated the importance of Latino voters and their increasing commitment to Democrats, some in the GOP say this time will be different.
"What's changed, honestly, is that there is a new, I think, appreciation on both sides of the aisle - including maybe more importantly on the Republican side of the aisle - that we have to enact a comprehensive immigration reform bill," Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said Sunday on ABC's "This Week."
"I think the time is right," McCain said.
Besides McCain, the senators expected to endorse the new principles Monday are Democrats Charles Schumer of New York, Dick Durbin of Illinois, Robert Menendez of New Jersey and Michael Bennet of Colorado; and Republicans Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Marco Rubio of Florida and Jeff Flake of Arizona.
Several of these lawmakers have worked for years on the issue. McCain collaborated with the late Democratic Sen. Edward M. Kennedy on comprehensive immigration legislation pushed by then-President George W. Bush in 2007, only to see it collapse in the Senate when it couldn't get enough GOP support.
The group claims a notable newcomer in Rubio, a potential 2016 presidential candidate whose conservative bona fides may help smooth the way for support among conservatives wary of anything that smacks of amnesty. In an opinion piece published Sunday in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Rubio wrote that the existing system amounts to "de facto amnesty," and he called for "commonsense reform."
According to documents obtained by The Associated Press, the senators will call for accomplishing four goals:
-Creating a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants already here, contingent upon securing the border and better tracking of people here on visas.
-Reforming the legal immigration system, including awarding green cards to immigrants who obtain advanced degrees in science, math, technology or engineering from an American university.
-Creating an effective employment verification system to ensure that employers do not hire illegal immigrants in the future, including requiring prospective workers to verify legal status and identity through a non-forgeable electronic system.
-Allowing more low-skill workers into the country and allowing employers to hire immigrants if they can demonstrate they couldn't recruit a U.S. citizen; and establishing an agricultural worker program.
The principles being released Monday are outlined on just over four pages, leaving plenty of details left to fill in. What the senators do call for is similar to Obama's goals and some past efforts by Democrats and Republicans, since there's wide agreement in identifying problems with the current immigration system. The most difficult disagreement is likely to arise over how to accomplish the path to citizenship.
In order to satisfy the concerns of Rubio and other Republicans, the senators are calling for the completion of steps on border security and oversight of those here on visas before taking major steps forward on the path to citizenship.
Even then, those here illegally would have to pass background checks and pay fines and taxes in order to qualify for a "probationary legal status" that would allow them to live and work here - but not qualify for federal benefits - before being able to apply for permanent residency, a critical step toward citizenship. Once they are allowed to apply they would do so behind everyone else already in line for a green card within the current immigration system.
That could be a highly cumbersome process, but how to make it more workable is being left to future negotiations. The senators envision a more streamlined process toward citizenship for immigrants brought here as children, and for agricultural workers.
The American Civil Liberties Union said in a statement that the framework agreed on by the senators could provide important protections for illegal immigrants who are exploited by employers and live in "constant fear" over their immigration status.
But the ACLU took issue with the proposal to require employers to use an electronic employment-verification system, calling it "a thinly disguised national ID requirement" that would undermine employees' privacy and lead to discrimination against those "who look or sound 'foreign.'"
The debate will play out at the start of Obama's second term, as he aims to spend the political capital afforded him by his re-election victory on an issue that has eluded past presidents and stymied him during his first term despite his promises to the Latino community to act.
"As the president has made clear for some time, immigration reform is an important priority and he is pleased that progress is being made with bipartisan support," a White House spokesman, Clark Stevens, said in a statement. "At the same time, he will not be satisfied until there is meaningful reform and he will continue to urge Congress to act until that is achieved."
For Republicans, the November elections were a stark schooling on the importance of Latino voters, who voted for Obama over Republican Mitt Romney 71 percent to 27 percent, helping ensure Obama's victory. That led some Republican leaders to conclude that supporting immigration reform with a path to citizenship has become a political imperative.
The vicious circle continues. We let illegal immigrants pour in. So politicians kowtow to them by weakening or ignoring immigration laws. Which allows more illegal immigrants to pour in. Which leads more politicians kowtowing to them.
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And here we are. Drivers licenses, in-state tuition, and billions of dollars in health and education benefits for illegal immigrants.
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Better wake up, folks. Start supporting groups that work to stop illegal immigration, like FAIR (http://www.fairus.org). End the vicious circle before it's too late.
Our "open door" policy has caused this. It's also opened our borders to some of the worst of the worst. We are the only country in the world who allows people to just come here and set up housekeeping and stay permanently without going through the proper channels. The ACLU keeps screaming about these people's rights and I can't help but wonder how can some one who is here illegally have "rights". Usually illegal means breaking the law. So if these 11 million people are granted citizenship and if our politicians are only concerned about getting reelected to make policy then I think we can safely say that in 10 or 15 years there will be 11 million more illigals who will demanding citizenship and the ACLU will be backing that too.
The campaign against illegal aliens started long ago. First they became illegal immigrants,then undocumented. I say let's start a campaign for AMERICAN  criminals. prostitute are now called solicitors,this was normally kept for lawyers . So let's keep going .Bank Robber ,unauthorized bank withdrawal. Rape will now be called an unauthorized sex act . We started down this slippery sloe ,now it seems it is a landslideÂ
When Barack Obama campaigned prior to the 2008 election, he promised that his first priority would be getting the economy back on track. After his election, he failed to ensure a budget, commitment to reduce debt or put people back to work. Instead, with the democrat controlled Congress doing his bidding, he pushed through a poorly thought out healthcare initiative and simply stuck more bandaids on the gaping wound of the economy. In four years, it would seem the lack of constructive thinking in DC left most Americans to work through the difficulties on their own and gains made were done so, despite or perhaps in spite, of intervention by this Congress and president.
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In the 2012 campaign, Barack Obama again promised that he would work diligently to right the ship, make tax changes to benefit working Americans, and reduce the debt. Unfortunately, it seems that his priorities shifted in the moment of victory. His fervor became to quickly spend the âpolitical capitalâ he falsely believes he has earned, and âmandatesâ from the people that essentially gives him carteâ blancheâ to do as he pleases. So now, Barack Obama is hell bent on controlling guns, but moreover, on the morning after his election, decided that immigration reform is far more important than fixing the economic standing of this nation to put more than 12 million unemployed Americans back to work (bureau of Labor Statistics). Instead heâs concentrating on helping up to 20 million people who have NO legal right to be in this country in the first place! His executive order allowing the âDream Actâ was a kick in the gut to all Americans who have been forced to pay higher tuition rates as out of state students, and for every illegal alien who garners a spot in a US college or university, that is perhaps one American citizen who must now wait in line for a spot. Now, as he pushes to give illegals a âpathway to citizenshipâ, a fight that was previously thwarted twice in Congress, and that 70% of Americans oppose, how can we trust a man who continues to fail to represent the citizens of this country, as is his Constitutional Duty?
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If he is to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution, how can he ignore laws already in place? In fact, in all of the 7, yes 7 amnesties (which this move is simply another form of) this country has enacted over the years, the one failure of all, is that ENFORCEMENT of the laws associated with them were ignored. Even Alan Simpson, who helped construct the 1986 amnesty stated that enforcement became the tool to gain votes, but was completely ignored afterward! The privileges given to illegals have been to the detriment of our own nation, yet if we were to simply enforce the laws that ensure propriety and responsibility of those who exploit human labor, or aid and abet illegals, we wouldnât have an illegal immigration problem. The ONE tool that has been proven highly effective? E-verify. Why wonât Barack Obama expand the mandate currently in place (requiring all companies which gain federal contracts to use E-verify) to ensure that all employers in this country must abide by the policy? Taking away the carrots of enticement will help our country far more than allowing up to 20 million more people to clog our employment system, healthcare system, and social programs. Rather than kicking the American citizens again, and spitting on all the legal immigrants who have followed all the rules, start making illegal aliens responsible and send them home to their own countries, demanding they get in line and follow the process. Giving in is NOT the answer. And for this president to make immigration reform a priority before he and Congress have managed to pass even ONE budget in four years, reduce our debt or enable business and industry to grow and rehire Americans, is testament that he has little regard for the citizenry or his true responsibility.
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I hope all Americans will burn up the phone lines, clog email boxes and stuff the mailrooms of Congress and the White House and tell Barack Obama and their elected leaders that their responsibility is to ensure our immigration laws are enforced, and that we demand E-verify be made mandatory and permanent for every employer in the nation. Take it one step further and write to state reps and governors and demand the same. There has been NO opportunity given to us to voice our opposition, so speak up before they shove another failure down our throats! Call NOW...202-224-3121 Capital Switchboard
The ACLU can go F*** them selves. Illegal immigrants should live in fear of their immigrant status. What part of illegal don't they understand? We don't need more people in the U.S. How about the farmers pay a little bit more than the trash wages that they pay. They prey on immigrants because they can't do anything about it. Fine the employers to death if they hire illegals. This country needs to straighten it's act up.
If migrant workers from Mexico are taking your jobs, you have crappy jobs.Â
 @lakeview What about bakery and meat packing. These are high paying jobs. When the plants were raided the lines went on for blocks of AMERICANS wanting those jobs.Â
Actually, since deregulation, the meat packing industry has reverted back to much of the likeness in "The Jungle". Wages dropped like a rock in the 80's and are now lowered to around $10 an hour, from an average of $22 an hour. The point is that even if all employers are forced to follow labor rules, the prices of production and products would not increase that much. I suggest people read "How much is that Tomato in the window" and realize that production costs are highest at the trucking and retail levels, not in factory or field.Â
So construction is a crappy job? What about Pulitizer prize winning journalism? How about hotel and resort jobs? You see, you've bought into the lie that there are actually "jobs no American will do". I just read an article in USA Today that stated nearly half of all Americans are OVERQUALIFIED for the jobs they do...when you have a Congress and president more enamoured w/ gaining political favor over representing the CITIZENS of their country, then you have a real problem.Â
 @lakeview How about cheap ass employers that hire them? Might actually be a good job.
In 1986 President Reagan granted amnesty to prox 20 million Illegals, that only let to another 20 million Illegals. Now Obumbler want to grant another amnesty to Illegals even tho 75% to 80% of the AMERICAN people are against it. If, (or should I say when), this passes it will only lead to another 20 million Illegals if we don't close the border and start to fine (big fine) these companies that hire these people. Sorry I don't buy the argument " they just want to make a living"  So do a lot of American citizens whos jobs they are taking. And don't buy into the "they only take jobs we don't want" Unions are signing them up by the thousands because the pay dues so they receive union wage. Also don't buy into "they pay taxes", most don't. They are not dumb and have this figured out.  They have to pay FICA because there is no way around it, but taxes, claim seven kids on your W-4, (who checks W-4s) you get a refund plus child tax credits. What are you going to do if you catch them at it, deport em, they'll be back in a week. We are giving away our country, and buying em breakfast to boot.
"Several of these lawmakers have worked for years on the issue. McCain collaborated with the late Democratic Sen. Edward M. Kennedy on comprehensive immigration legislation pushed by then-President George W. Bush in 2007, only to see it collapse in the Senate when it couldn't get enough GOP support."
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Look at the record on that vote...it was called the Strive Act of 2007, you will see OBAMA, BIDEN, and CLINTON didn't BOTHER TO VOTE. How they got away with saying how important this issue is to them in this last election shows just how corrupt the media is.
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We defeated McCain/Kennedy not once but TWICE! We need to defeat this as well!
Those 11 million plus illegals are filling millions of jobs, etc., etc... ""I think the time is right," McCain said. Yep the time is right to screw the American worker again, isn't it John. The guy is reptilian.
We already have immigration laws on the books. Just enforce them!!!Â
Anything other than that is a kick in the gut to those who are waiting to immigrate LEGALLY, or who have already immigrated LEGALLY.
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Another bogus 'feel-good' attempt at emptying the quicksand pit with a toy shovel while standing in it. The current backlog/wait for those of us in the LEGAL immigration process is up to a decade, depending on country of origin. Now the they think the issue can be resolved by funneling ILLEGALS into line behind us? The size of the USCIS staff will have to more than triple to handle the caseload. *DING* Oh, now I get it. It's a gov't job creation project. How long do you think it will be before another 'adjustment' is needed to do away with the whole process and they just start handing out green cards like samples at Costco?Â
 @NoBillC68 Our elected officials listen and respond more to the illegal population, than they do US Citizens, and legal immigrants. :(
"McCain collaborated with the late Democratic Sen. Edward M. Kennedy"
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Anytime McCain "collaborates" with Team Blue, you can rest assured it will be a total surrender.
What about Americans already our of work ? What about returning Vets? Don't they have a right to a job? What about the taxpayers now ? Don't they pay enough taxes ? The social programs are already bankrupt ,why would we want to make more eligible ? In the 1950's America rounded up and deported over 13 million people here ilegally ,with technology surely we can do it for our returning vets to have jobs .
"For Republicans, the November elections were a stark schooling on the importance of Latino voters, who voted for Obama over Republican Mitt Romney 71 percent to 27 percent, helping ensure Obama's victory." I'd have voted for Obama too, if he'd been handing me money left, right and center. If the democrat party stopped giving handouts, the Latino voters wouldn't vote for them, period. Call me racists, but the fact is, most NOT all, but most, voted for Obama because he promises to keep the gravy train moving. Stop the train and the votes will dry up.
So we are going to reward these people for breaking the law. What is going to stop these criminals from coming over the border if we keep giving them a free pass?
 @ObsidianOne It is the liberal way
We must address automatic citizenship. If you are here illegally and have a baby, the child should not be a citizen.
 @thebigteacher This was not a recognized act until Ted Kennedy and other Democrats passed the Immigration Act of 1965.Â
 @Maynard G Krebbs That really messed things up didn't it?
Can someone explain why we can't or why agreements can't be made to allow our troops to secure the borders? When the troops are all back they need training and something to do. They are already paid for! With the number of troops and equipment available we should be able to make illegals a thing of the past.
 @wardog Luckily for reasons our forefathers saw, the regular active-duty solider is not allowed to make arrests or detain citizens.  This falls to the police departments and federal law enforcement agencies.  Troops with the National Guard, under the orders of the governors of their respective states can do this in certain situations - like a natural disaster or a state crisis.
 @Daryll Bradshaw They are not citizens. They are illegally entering/invading this country.
 @wardog Follow the money. Fine and jail the people who profit from employing illegal workers and the problem would go away.Â
 @rockguy Hate to say it, but in all honesty that would be virtually every American. Who wants to pay $5.00/apple? We want to be paid the highest wage possible, yet wish to pay the lowest rate possible. If there were not migrant workers do you think the produce would be harvested at a cost that would be profitable for the farmer?
 @Sparrowhawk707 I honestly call BS to this report and if you have a link I would really like to read it. It was only a few years ago that the farmers let their crop hit the ground and rot, because they would lose less money than if they paid the going rate to their workers. The profit margin to the farmers is not that high that they can absorb a 40%+ gross increase in debit and still only passing on a .03/lb increase.
 @komotriedtosilenceme  According to the Seattle Times, if all the illegal immigrant apple pickers disappeared and if the remaining legal workers received a 40% wage increase, the price of a pound of apples would go up 3 cents.
Perhaps it's time to retire the $5 per apple canard.
@komotriedtosilenceme @rockguy .....That can be fixed with a Guest Worker Program
"Although thorny details remain to be negotiated and success is far from certain..." So they have agreed to some principles of changes. Headline of "Senators reach agreement on immigration reform" is a bit misleading IMO.
Holy Crap...actually dealing with the problem as it is in reality. Â I have said for a long time we needed real reform that deal with illegal aliens and the entire immigration system. Â Since the mantra of "Send'em back" really hasn't been all that effective. Â
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"Since the mantra of "Send'em back" really hasn't been all that effective."
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I agree. No mantra is effective. Actually DOING it would be effective.
@wayne0021 we deport lots and lots of illegals, then they come back. There really isn't anything to stop them. We could put them in jail but then how much would that cost us? Good luck getting other countries to enforce our laws.
 @DeadRabitz It is difficult to "solve" a problem, if not impossible, once you let it escalate to the levels we have let it. I agree there needs to be some sort of modification, but that said, the penalties need to be harsher for those that continue to shirk the system. Like you said, the send them back routine is ineffective.Â
 @aintno1special I think we can reform the system so that becoming a citizen is easier and more cost effective all the way around.  While I do not condone illegal immigration, I understand the reasons behind it.  We have a horrible system that pushes people to illegal immigration.
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Most people are not aware that we have a limit to how many people can immigrate each year. Â Last I looked it was around 1 million. Â It sound like a big number but when significantly more people want to come here it creates a problem. Â I would first get rid of the cap. Â Secondly I would enforce better laws on employers of illegal aliens.
@Suzie-Q we have too many people here? Seriously. The US and china are almost the same size and china has over a billion more people than us. We have a vast interior that is wide and open. Regarding your thoughts on the black community. What your are referring to is highly regionalized. In the PNW there were a lot of people from Russia and such Eastern block areas doing the framing. Now it's mostly Mexicans. The Russians have moved on to Finnish carpentry and interior work. My point is that it's different in every area. There will always be a group that works for less. We need reform and we can not effect reform if we cap the number of people coming in because all that does is create an illegal immigration problem.
@komotriedtosilenceme @DeadRabitz @aintno1special  Has anyone asked Black Americans how all of this has affected them? How unemployment for them has went up alot. Illegals have taken over the very same industries that used to employ Blacks. Try Miami, 10-15 years ago, the service industry was mainly Blacks, now it has shifted to hispanic. Same with construction and so on. They are hurting the very people that are our citizens.Now wages are down in all those areas becuase of supply and demand... too many people. And the subject that hasn't been touched on, is our enviroment. We're too full now. Southwestern states are getting critical levels of water, cities are overcrowded, look at Cali. Freeways and no money to repair, let alone build new. Our nation is considered full right now, i feel insulted that we need to bring in a millon more plus per year because we don't have enough brilliant minds here? oh, come on
 @DeadRabitz  @aintno1special Seems to be the end result, if not the initial intent.
 @komotriedtosilenceme  @aintno1special AH yes, cutting off ones nose to spite their face.
 @DeadRabitz  @aintno1special I would agree, but most people do not realize the importance of the immigrant, or migrant workers, or the ramifications of eliminating them altogether.
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I think economically, we have figured out how to minimize the immigration issue, simply tank the economy and no one wants to come in. Net zero influx of Hispanics in the last few years.