US Senate Immigration Bill To Heighten Mexico-US Border Security, Grant Legal Status The Huffington Post - The Huffington Post
go to original April 17, 2013

The US immigration system would undergo dramatic changes under a bipartisan senate bill that seeks to end illegal immigration once and for all by creating legal avenues for workers in the country. (AlJazeeraEnglish)

WASHINGTON - The senators known as the gang of eight released the full text early Wednesday of their immigration reform legislation, the "Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act," an 844-page document that addresses border security, undocumented immigrants and the legal immigration system.

The wide-ranging bill would allow undocumented immigrants to become citizens after a lengthy process and after border security improvements, along with strengthened enforcement and changes to the way visas are doled out. It would require employers to check job applicants through the government's online E-Verify system to ensure they are authorized to work in the U.S. And it would shift the country toward merit-based visas based on work, away from family-based visas.

The bill is likely to be contentious. The debate will begin in earnest on Friday, when the Senate Judiciary Committee holds its first hearing. Senators will get a few days to go over the bill ahead of that hearing and another to be held on Monday. Members of the gang of eight have said they are open to amendments, so long as they are not meant to kill the legislation.

Read the rest at The Huffington Post

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