Bipartisan Immigration Reform Proposed With Pathway to Citizenship

I am amazed that Republicans fall for the story that it is their oppopsition to illegal immigration that loses them Hispanic votes.  It is far more likely that it is Hispanic poverty that loses them votes.  Democrats make great play for the poor. Softening the immigration stance would likely have no effect on vote at all.  Not all Hispanics are poor but not all Hispanics vote Democrat either -- JR

The re-election of President Obama has brought the issue of immigration to the forefront once again.

With both sides now open to the idea of comprehensive immigration reform, two senators from opposing sides of the aisle are looking to make such changes, including a pathway to citizenship for the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants now in the United States.

Democrat Chuck Schumer of New York and Republican Lindsay Graham of South Carolina, who each promoted similar proposals on separate Sunday news shows, said that no path to citizenship would be available until the country's borders were secure.

Only then could those in the U.S. without authorization "come out of the shadows, get biometrically identified, start paying taxes, pay a fine for the law the broke," Graham said on CBS' "Face the Nation."

''They can't stay unless they learn our language, and they have to get in the back of line before they become citizens. They can't cut in front of the line regarding people who are doing it right and it can take over a decade to get their green card."

Schumer told NBC's "Meet the Press" that he and Graham have resumed talks on immigration policy that broke off two years ago and "have put together a comprehensive detailed blue print on immigration reform" that has "the real potential for bipartisan support based on the theory that most Americans are for legal immigration, but very much against illegal immigration."

Graham, however, made no mention of working with the chairman of the Senate Judiciary subcommittee on immigration, refugees and border security.

Immigration policy, largely ignored during President Barack Obama's first four years in office, has re-emerged as a major issue as Republicans seek ways to rebound from their election performance. More than 70 percent of Hispanic voters supported Obama, who has been more open than Republicans to comprehensive overhaul of immigration laws.

Three days after Tuesday's election, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said it was time to address immigration policy. He urged Obama to take the lead in coming up with a plan that would look at both improved enforcement of immigration law and the future of the estimated 11 million people living in the country illegally. Boehner, however, did not commit to the citizenship issue.

Graham said that the "tone and rhetoric" Republicans used in the immigration debate of 2006 and 2007 "has built a wall between the Republican Party and Hispanic community," causing Hispanic support to dwindle from 44 percent in 2004 to 27 percent in 2012.

"This is an odd formula for party to adopt, the fastest growing demographic in the country, and we're losing votes every election. It's one thing to shoot yourself in the foot, just don't reload the gun. I intend not to reload this gun when it comes to Hispanics. I intend to tear this wall down and pass an immigration reform bill that's an American solution to an American problem," he said.

Both senators said the overhaul would include developing a secure document to assure employers they're hiring people authorized to work in the country, and allowing legal immigration for needed workers at all skill levels. The path to citizenship would require immigrants to learn English, go to the back of the citizenship line, have a job and not commit crimes.

Graham said the overhaul would have to be done in such a way that "we don't have a third wave of illegal immigration 20 years from now. That's what Americans want. They want more legal immigration and they want to fix illegal immigration once and for all."

In exit polls on Tuesday, The Associated Press found 65 percent favored offering most undocumented immigrants workers in the United States a chance to apply for legal status, more than double the number who said most should be deported. Even among Republicans, the party associated with crackdowns on undocumented immigration, about half favored a path toward staying in the U.S.

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Boehner Says Obama Should Take the Lead on Immigration

House Speaker John Boehner on Friday said it was time to address immigration policy and urged President Barack Obama to take the lead in coming up with a plan that would look at both improved enforcement of immigration law and the future of the estimated 11 million people living in the country illegally.

Immigration policy, largely ignored during Obama's first four years in office, has re-emerged as a key issue as Republicans seek ways to rebound from the beating they got from Hispanic voters during the presidential election. More than 70 percent of Hispanic voters supported Obama, who has been more open than Republicans to comprehensive overhaul of immigration laws.

"It's just time to get the job done," Boehner said at a news conference. He said lawmakers from both parties want to resolve the issue. "But again, on an issue this big, the president has to lead."

But Boehner would not commit to supporting legislation that might open a pathway to citizenship - an idea that most Republicans have strongly opposed - for those living in the country illegally.

"I'm not talking about a 3,000-page bill," he said. "What I'm talking about is a common-sense, step-by-step approach to secure our borders, allow us to enforce the laws and fix a broken immigration system."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said after the election that the vote showed that Democrats are the party of diversity, and he plans to bring up an immigration reform bill next year. He said Republicans would block such legislation at their own "peril."

Boehner, in an earlier interview with ABC, appeared to open the way for discussion on immigration by saying that a comprehensive approach is long overdue, and "I'm confident that the president, myself, others can find the common ground to take care of this issue once and for all."

That won praise from Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., head of the Senate Judiciary subcommittee on immigration, who called Boehner's recognition of the urgent need for immigration reform a "breakthrough."

But Rep. John Fleming, R-La., also expressed concern that Boehner was "getting ahead of House Republicans when he commits to getting a 'comprehensive approach' to immigration."

"There's been zero discussion of this issue within the conference, and I'm urging the speaker to talk with House Republicans before making pledges on the national news," Fleming said.

Hispanics proved to be a critical source of support for Obama, and Republicans have since cited their failure to attract Hispanic voters as one reason for Obama's victory. The two candidates offered a stark contrast during the campaign.

Obama has been supportive to immigration law overhaul and in June announced that people brought here illegally as children who had graduated high school or served in the military would not be deported and would be granted work permits. GOP candidate Mitt Romney, meanwhile, supported more hardline policies and at one point called for "self-deportation" to shrink the number of people in the country illegally.

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