U.S. Senators Announce "Grand Bargain" for Immigration Reform

Thursday, May 17, 2007
Contributed by: Charles A. Mallard

A group of Democratic and Republican senators have announced that private negotiations have produced a "grand bargain." The bipartisan group has suggested that the agreement reached today (May 17, 2007) would result in reforms that would legalize millions of illegal immigrants and establish a merit-based system for future migrants. Immigration reform advocates, however, have raised concerns that the potential trade-off for a strong legalization program and significant reductions in the current family backlogs could result in a shift from an immigration system grounded in familial and employment relationships to one disconnected from direct ties to the U.S. This concern stems from the proposal's reduction of the number of family-based preference categories and opportunities for temporary guest workers to seek permanent residence status. President Bush is expected to speak on the proposal at 3:30 p.m. EDT today.

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