The immigration reform bill from the Gang of Eight is now 95% finished, according to Republican Senator Marco Rubio, who has been spearheading the plan. The son of Cuban immigrants and a possible presidential candidate for the Republican Party in 2016 says that to improve the state of the nation, including the job market and the economic forecast, the bill is absolutely mandatory, despite concerns over the border security propositions of the current draft from some politicians.
Indeed, border security is the issue that is occupying the unfinished 5% of the bill, with negotiators looking for more specifics that will nonetheless not put any obstacles in the way of the reform’s primary goal, which is to offer a pathway to US citizenship for illegal immigrants who are currently living in the country.
“I would simply say to our colleagues we are open, if you want greater specificity about what that border plan looks like, we’re open to that,” says Senator Bob Menendez. “But we cannot have and what I cannot support and what I believe the community cannot support at the end of the day is that we’re going to have triggers that can never be achieved in terms of border security as an impediment to the pathway to legalization and citizenship.”
Fox News says that lawmakers from both major political parties have started formal debates on the proposal, with officials convinced that the great majority of Americans are ready for comprehensive immigration reform.