The GOP is preparing to unveil its own comprehensive immigration reform plan. The New York Times reports that Speaker John Boehner of Ohio and other Republican leaders are "expected to release a one-page statement of immigration principles this week at their annual retreat in Cambridge, Md." The doumented is expected to include reforms on border security as well as providing the anticipated path to legalization for the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the country.
The Republican immigration plan comes as President Obama is expected to once again urge Congress on the importance of comprehenisive immigration reform at his State of the Union address on Tuesday. Yet while Mr. Obama will likely be pushing for a single, comprehensive bill, the GOP is likely to continue its piecemeal approach by offering a number of separate bills on border security; expanded guest-worker programs; a path to citizenship undocumented migrants brought in as children; and a path to legal status for undocumented workers with family ties to citizens.
It seems that even the most conservative Republican leaders have come to a consensus on the necessity for immigration reform, not least because of the significance of the Latino vote in upcoming elections. “The principles they lay out I’m sure won’t satisfy everybody,” Michael R. Bloomberg, former mayor of New York City, said at an immigration forum on Friday. But, he added, “if we can make some compromises here for the good of the country, I think we have a very good chance for the first time in a long time of changing something that is really damaging all of us.”
