With bills for immigration reform sitting in the House of Representatives, a number of legislators are beginning to look for ways to compromise on the controversial issue. The House, which is controlled by the Republican Party, has some lawmakers that are completely opposed to offering a path to US citizenship to undocumented immigrants, but some leaders who are against citizenship may be willing to agree to a different option.
Instead of offering US citizenship, lawmakers have proposed that undocumented workers who live and work in the country for a certain number of years are offered the chance to get legal permanent residency in the form of a green card. While this is difficult to get hold of, once a green card has been awarded there is an automatic chance to put in an application for citizenship at a later time.
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the president of ImmigrationWorks USA, Tamar Jacoby, is urging the Republican Party to offer the compromise and for it to be approved by the Democrats. If negotiations are to be extended into 2014, many fear that due to lawmakers facing re-election next year a bipartisan agreement will end up being a long way off.
“Indications from Representative Goodlatte and others are that they want to move on immigration, that doing nothing is not an option,” says the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ director of immigration policy, Kevin Appleby. “I am of the belief, despite reports that immigration reform is dead, that it’s very much alive.”
