“I hope that Republicans and Democrats up there do not get involved in some kind of typical Washington back-and-forth sideshow here and rather just roll up their sleeves and get to work,” said the president’s chief of staff, Denis McDonough.
Reform proponents say America has a rare opportunity to act. “For the first time ever, there is more political risk in opposing immigration reform than in supporting it,” said Democratic Senator Charles Schumer.
But opponents fear reform efforts will encourage more illegal immigration. Jim Gilchrist founded a citizens’ group that patrols America’s border with Mexico.
"If we are going to grant amnesty to 15- to 30-million people who are here illegally now, we are going to be granting amnesty to 300 million who will follow them over the next several decades," he said.
Yet analysts see an emerging consensus in Washington on immigration reform.
“There is agreement on the need for more border security. There is agreement on the need for mandatory employment verification. There is agreement on doing something with unauthorized immigrants and allowing them some level of legal status,” said Michelle Mittelstadt of the Migration Policy Institute.
But friction over the White House draft bill shows that change is far from assured.
“This [initiative] could blow up [fall apart] at any moment. I think this controversy over the leaked White House proposal and the very strong reaction from Republicans is just a sign of how high the stakes are and the fact that this will remain a very complicated and contentious process,” Mittelstadt said.
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2013-11-25
2013-11-25
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2013-11-25
2013-11-25