Obama Throws Support Behind Plan to Reform “Out of Date and Badly Broken” Immigration Laws
Speaking at a majority Hispanic high school in Las Vegas, President Obama voiced his support for a plan to fix our nation’s “out of date and badly broken” immigration laws.
The President is referring to a plan drafted by 8 senators – four from each party – that hopes to provide eventual citizenship for some 11 million people.
He focused specifically on three pillars of reform: the enforcement of immigration laws, providing a path to citizenship, and reforming the legal immigration system.
To earn the opportunity for citizenship, Obama said undocumented immigrants must first pass a background check, learn English, pay a penalty, and then get “in the back of the line” behind people trying to come to America legally.
Millions of undocumented immigrants would get immediate but provisional status to live and work in the United States, under the compromise plan crafted by the senate group. That outline also called for strengthening border controls, improved monitoring of visitors and cracking down on hiring undocumented workers.
Only after those steps occurred could undocumented immigrants already in the country begin the process of getting permanent residence — green cards — as a step toward citizenship, the senators said at a news conference on Monday.
Thoughts on the plan and the President’s remarks?
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