Progress on immigration reform

A bipartisan deal to reform the U.S. immigration system came a step closer to fruition this week, as the country’s largest labor union, its largest business group, and senators from both parties agreed on a guest worker program for low-skilled immigrants. The AFL-CIO and the Chamber of Commerce approved the creation of a new visa program for up to 200,000 non-seasonal workers in industries such as hospitality, retail, and construction. Arrangements for such workers had been the main obstacle for the so-called “Gang of Eight” Democratic and Republican senators working on bipartisan legislation.

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said that the agreement cleared the way toward a comprehensive bill to improve border security, modernize the immigration system, and create a path to eventual citizenship for 11 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. “Every major policy issue has been resolved,” he said. But Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said it was “premature” to consider the legislation final, calling for ample time for senators to offer amendments.

“Perhaps it is the blossom in the air,” said the Financial Times in an editorial, but reform of America’s broken immigration system finally looks possible. Yet Washington’s “chronic dysfunction” could still bring progress to a halt. Legislation that “smacks of amnesty” will be opposed by a majority of House Republicans. The bill’s fate depends on the ability of GOP leaders to stand up to those blocking reform.

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Democrats aren’t playing fair, said Mark Krikorian in NationalReview.com. They seem to think the GOP is so desperate to pander to Latinos that it will “simply cave on outstanding issues.” They’ve rejected conservatives’ demands for public hearings and a proper “trigger” to halt the legislation if promises to secure the border aren’t kept. The result will be “a grotesquely deformed bill,” which Rubio shouldn’t support.

Rubio “has a very tough balancing act to strike,” said Greg Sargent in WashingtonPost.com. He needs to show conservatives he’s prepared to reject a flawed deal, while also convincing them he has won major concessions. Still, by “urging a go-slow approach,” the senator is just giving anti-immigration hard-liners time to intimidate pro-reform Republicans and kill the bill. He risks losing everything by encouraging the “slow down caucus.”