The White House is planning to tackle illegal immigration by
allowing undocumented workers a path to permanent residence within eight years
of passing government requirements, according to reports.
A leaked copy of the draft bill, first reported by USA Today,
contains provisions that would allow the nation's estimated 11 million
undocumented workers to seek a "lawful prospective immigrant" visa
that would allow them to live and work freely in the country.
Prospective visa holders would have to pass a criminal
background check and submit to biometric tests, according to the document. Eight
years after receiving the visa they would be eligible to apply for a green card,
which allows permanent residency. Green card holders are able to apply for full
US
citizenship five years after being granted residency.
The White House declined to comment on the details of the
report. But in a statement, White House spokesman Clark Stevens said: "The
president has made clear the principles upon which he believes any common-sense
immigration reform effort should be based. We continue to work in support of a
bipartisan effort, and while the president has made clear he will move forward
if Congress fails to act, progress continues to be made and the administration
has not prepared a final bill to submit."
The proposal seemed unlikely to win cross-party support
despite containing elements from a bipartisan plan now being drawn up by
senators including Florida Republican Marco Rubio, seen as a 2016 presidential
hopeful.
"Presidents #immigration plan repeats 2 many of
mistakes of past. bipartisan plan being developed in Senate will be better,fair
& responsible," Rubio said on Twitter.
In a statement his office called the plan "half-baked
and seriously flawed" and declared that "if actually proposed, the
president's bill would be dead on arrival in Congress".
President Barack Obama addressed immigration reform in his
state of the union speech last week. "Real reform means establishing a
responsible pathway to earned citizenship – a path that includes passing a
background check, paying taxes and a meaningful penalty, learning English, and
going to the back of the line behind the folks trying to come here legally,"
he said.
"And real reform means fixing the legal immigration
system to cut waiting periods, reduce bureaucracy, and attract the highly
skilled entrepreneurs and engineers that will help create jobs and grow our
economy."
Eight senators have been working on a framework for
immigration reform and last month released a blueprint that was praised by
Obama.
The senators called the proposals "tough but fair".
Undocumented workers seeking temporary legal residency would have to pay a fine
and undergo background checks. They would not be able to pursue permanent
residency until the US
border is more secure. The definition of security has Democratic reformers
worried that the bill will face long delays.
"If Congress is unable to move forward in a timely
fashion, I will send up a bill based on my proposal and insist that they vote
on it right away," Obama said in Las
Vegas last month.
Any major bill on immigration reform will be the first since
1986, when president Ronald Reagan legalised nearly 3 million immigrants.
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