White House Unveils Backup Immigration Reform Plan

Administration doesn’t trust bipartisan committee efforts to get it done

Is this an insult? President Barack Obama has his administration working on a backup immigration reform bill, just in case a bipartisan congressional committee working on a separate plan fails. News of that on Sunday must have made Republicans salty, as one key GOPer called the president’s plan “dead on arrival” on Capitol Hill. White House Chief of staff Denis McDonough tells the media that Obama hopes the congressional efforts will be sufficient, but wants a plan B. So, what in the policy has Republicans balking? A draft of the White House immigration proposal would allow illegal immigrants to become legal permanent resident after eight years. The plan would also provide more security funding at the borders and require businesses to check the immigration status of new hires within four years. Obama, in his State of the Union address, emphasized the importance of creating a pathway to citizenship for an estimated 11 million immigrants who are here illegally. Republicans have long been against that plan. (Reuters)

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