US immigration legislation gaining momentum in the Senate

WASHINGTON – White House-backed immigration legislation is gaining momentum in the Senate, where lawmakers say they are closing in on a bipartisan compromise to spend tens of billions of dollars stiffening the bill’s border security requirements without delaying legalization for millions living in the U.S. unlawfully.

If agreed to, the changes could clear the way for a strong bipartisan vote within a few days to pass the measure that sits atop President Barack Obama’s second-term domestic agenda.

The developments came as Democrats who met with House Speaker John Boehner on Wednesday quoted him as saying he expected the House to pass its own version of an immigration bill this summer and Congress to have a final compromise by year’s end.

Immigration has become a top issue once again after opposition Republicans lost last year’s presidential election as Hispanic voters voted overwhelmingly for Obama. Hispanics have been wary of the traditional Republican focus on deportations.

A leading Republican senator, Lindsey Graham, said Wednesday night after a day of private talks: “This is a key moment in the effort to pass this bill. This is sort of the defining 24 to 36 hours.”

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Under the emerging compromise, the government would grant legal status to immigrants living in the United States unlawfully at the same time the additional security was being put into place. Green cards, which signify permanent residency status, would be withheld until the security steps were complete.

Officials described a so-called border surge that envisions doubling the size of the Border Patrol with 20,000 new agents, completing 700 miles (1,225 kilometres) of new fencing along the border with Mexico and purchasing new surveillance drones to track would-be illegal border crossers. The cost of the additional agents alone was put at $30 billion over a decade.

In addition, immigrants would not be able to claim credit for government pension plan taxes they paid while working without lawful status.

Credits are used to determine the amount in pension benefits a worker receives after retirement.

There was no immediate reaction from the White House to terms hashed out by senators in both parties, although Democrats kept administration officials apprised of the talks.

The agreement began to take shape over the past several days beginning with a series of meetings involving Republicans who were uncommitted on the legislation but receptive to supporting it after changes were made. Eventually, Sen. Chuck Schumer and Sen. Bob Menendez, both Democrats and authors of the bill, joined the talks.

The officials who described the emerging deal spoke on the condition of anonymity because the talks were private.

The potential compromise in the Senate came into focus Wednesday, one day after the Congressional Budget Office jolted lawmakers with an estimate saying that as drafted, the legislation would fail to prevent a steady increase in the future in the number of residents living in the United States illegally.

The estimate appeared to give added credibility to Republicans who have been pressing Democrats to toughen the border security provisions already written into the bill.
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Associated Press writer Laurie Kellman contributed to this report.