DREAM Act Portal Forum - Immigration negotiators eye border security compromise

DREAM Act Portal Forum (http://dreamact.info/forum/index.php)

- The News Room (http://dreamact.info/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=23)

- - Immigration negotiators eye border security compromise (http://dreamact.info/forum/showthread.php?t=57724)

Immigration negotiators eye border security compromise

http://firstread.nbcnews.com/_news/2...ompromise?lite

Quote:

Negotiators say they are close to a deal to strengthen border security provisions in the Senate immigration bill, an agreement designed to draw more Republican votes and significantly strengthen the bill’s prospects of becoming law.

"There's still work to do but we've had a really good day," said Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., who's been helping to lead talks on the strengthened border measures.

"I don't know what happens if we fail,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., an original member of the Gang of Eight. “I know this is a key moment in the effort to pass this bill. This is sort of the defining 24-36 hours.”

The talks are aimed at winning enough Republican votes to pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill with an overwhelming majority of senators – enough to pressure the House of Representatives to take action on immigration legislation.

"You know look, we have some people in our caucus that are never going to vote for an immigration bill, OK, I don't care if you – it's just never going to happen," Corker told reporters. "And so we realize that. And yet there are people who, with the right provisions, would, and so that's our target audience, right."

So far, the talks have centered on how to measure whether the border is secure, and how those measurements would trigger the opening of the path to citizenship, as well as whether Congress or the Department of Homeland Security would be responsible for the plan to secure the border.

Democrats have so far been reluctant to accept any changes that they believe could jeopardize the path to citizenship – including plans that would require what they call overly stringent security goals to be met before undocumented immigrants can progress to legal status or apply for green cards.

But on Wednesday, Corker pointed to a Congressional Budget Office analysis released Tuesday that showed illegal immigration would drop by only 25 percent under the bill.

"I think this added some momentum to our discussions about doing something very substantial when it comes to border security," Corker said.

Corker refused to offer details of the proposal that he's been working on with Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D. They've been discussing the plan with Democrats, including Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York. The provisions are intended to be more palatable to Democrats than a border security amendment being offered by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, which Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has called a “poison pill.”

Corker said that the outline of the agreement was being discussed among both the Republican and Democratic caucuses on Wednesday afternoon and that negotiators could reach a final deal as soon as Thursday.

Graham described the effort as doing "something dramatic" to fix the border.

"What we're trying to do is put in place measures that to any reasonable person would be an overwhelming effort to secure our border," Graham told reporters, "short of shooting anybody who comes across the border."