According to the Orange County Register, the clock is ticking on the Senate bipartisan group on immigration to have a proposal ready for the full Senate.
According to the Register:
“The senators are trying to reach agreement on a bill that would: tighten enforcement at the border and in the interior of the country; create a foolproof workplace verification system, include a legalization plan for the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants living here and establish a program for future foreign workers.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle said there was general agreement in the room about the enforcement provisions of an immigration bill, including a section that would forestall any new guest worker program or legalization plan until certain border and workplace enforcement improvements were put in place. Such a trigger was something that has long been suggested by some GOP senators.”
Majority Leader Harry Reid plans to bring an immigration bill to the Senate floor during the by the end of May. If the bipartisan group does not produce a compromise bill by May 14th, Reid is expected to introduce an immigration bill, perhaps the one the Senate passed last spring, to start debate the Senate floor.
Let’s hope that if any comprehensive immigration reform passes in this session with a trigger requirement, that it does not delay the implementation of the legalization and future worker program for years to come. It has been projected that complying with the border security and employment verification requirements could take at least one year, and then actually implementing the legislation after the trigger has been switched could take another year. Our nation cannot afford to wait that long for immigration reform.