The most contentious issue in immigration reform is probably the potential of a 'path to citizenship.' But the heated rhetoric obscures the fact that both sides have many points of agreement.
Sen. John McCain (R) of Arizona (l.) and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D) of New York, members of the Senate's immigration reform Gang of Eight, tour the Nogales port of entry Wednesday in Nogales, Ariz.
Ross D. Franklin/AP
EnlargeImmigration advocates demand it. Conservative immigration reformers say it's not happening. The very mention of it freaks out Sen. Rand Paul.
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It?s the most politically-explosive issue in the ongoing immigration reform debate ? but what is a ?path to citizenship,? anyway?
In short, the question of a pathway to citizenship asks whether the more than 10 million undocumented immigrants in the country can ever become US citizens.
The question today is largely what kind of route the currently undocumented would take to become citizens ? a special path designed specifically for the current illegal population or the regular channels available to other potential immigrants.
Everyone agrees that a final bill won?t have any sort of deportation for the vast majority of the undocumented population. In the past, some hardliners on immigration hoped the federal government would either begin a deportation program or adopt policies making enforcement conditions so unbearable for those in the country illegally that they self-deport (as Mitt Romney put it).
Instead, both conservative and Democratic reformers from Sen. Marco Rubio (R) of Florida to President Obama and Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D) of Illinois believe the first step for immigration reform is putting undocumented people on a pathway to ?legal status? in the US.
Whenever you hear a phrase similar to ?bringing people out of the shadows,? you?re hearing a politician talking about a ?probationary? period where the currently-illegal can work, get drivers licenses and generally live their lives with many of the responsibilities of US citizens but a diminished number of rights.
This isn?t a status conferred for free, however.
Those here illegally would have to hit eligibility criteria like paying a fine and taxes and passing a background check before they would be eligible for such a program. Lawmakers in both houses of Congress have said that those in this status will not be eligible for a slew of federal-benefits programs like welfare or SNAP, formerly known as food stamps. And, of course, they couldn?t vote. ?
Moreover, everybody agrees that the undocumented who qualify for probationary legal status in the US will have to wait at least eight years before they can attempt to change their immigration status.
What happens next is the tricky part.
Republicans are opposed to allowing these people, at the end of their eight-year probation, a special path to obtaining green cards (formally known as becoming a ?legal permanent resident?). The green card is the doorway to citizenship: Green card holders wait five years before applying to become US citizens.
?It would be a travesty in my opinion to treat those who violated our laws to get here much better than those who have patiently waited their turn to come to the United States,? said Rep. Raul Labrador (R) of Idaho, a key GOP immigration negotiator, at a large gathering of conservative political activists in Maryland recently.
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