Three of eight: McCain, Schumer, Rubio
The Senate's Gang of Eight is rolling out its immigration reform proposal Tuesday, though in a lower-key fashion than originally planned, due to the Boston Marathon bombing. The full details of the plan aren't yet known, but
broadly, Sens. John McCain and Chuck Schumer write in the
Wall Street Journal that:
This legislation is truly comprehensive. It would provide a credible way for undocumented immigrants to apply for legalization and eventually citizenship—but only after specific, achievable steps have been taken, including securing our southern border with the deployment of unmanned aerial vehicles and other proven surveillance capabilities.
Some Republicans will of course oppose any attempt at a detail, because brown people. Similarly, for many who want to see a non-punitive immigration policy with a path to citizenship,
the details of the bill will be important:
“The president is very pleased with the progress we’ve seen thus far,” press secretary Jay Carney said. “We will evaluate the legislation when we get the final language. But what we have seen is a remarkable, in Washington, level of consensus between and support for bipartisan and comprehensive immigration reform. . . . And we remain cautiously optimistic that this progress will lead to legislation that can pass and the president can sign.”
McCain and Schumer will be meeting with the president Tuesday to discuss the plan. Rep. Raul Grijalva sounded a slightly more specific
note of caution on C-SPAN, saying:
"In this whole process, as I’ve stated over and over again, there are some pills that need to be swallowed that are not very comfortable for me and other Members of Congress. A myopic security look at how we do immigration reform is not the way to go. But the linchpin for me has been a path [to citizenship]. If that’s a tradeoff, then it’s fair. But if there are triggers attached – that say, ‘We will not move on this path unless. . .’ – then I’m uncomfortable and not supportive, and I think a lot of other people will be too."
A CNN/ORC International poll finds
84 percent support for a path to citizenship for immigrants who have jobs and pay back taxes; other recent polls have found lower, but still majority, support, but those other polls did not include the requirements for the pathway. The CNN poll found 78 percent support for a pathway to citizenship even among Republicans, but we know that's no guarantee that Republican politicians will vote accordingly. Getting to this step is an important point, but this fight is far from over.