U.S. House ‘Gang of Eight’ reaches tentative immigration deal

WASHINGTON,  (Reuters) – The U.S. House of Representatives “Gang of Eight” capped four years of on-again, off-again talks by reaching a tentative bipartisan agreement yesterday on a comprehensive deal to overhaul U.S. immigration laws.

But Republican Gang member Raul Labrador of Idaho, a former immigration attorney, dropped out, saying he couldn’t go along with the accord’s healthcare provisions.

“I could not sign on to it,” Labrador told reporters. “I’m now on my own. We will see what happens.”

So the Gang of Eight, four Democrats and four Republicans, instantly became the Gang of Seven.

Remaining Gang members emerged from a meeting, saying they had found “a way forward” but that no details would be released until they had time to put their agreement in legislative language and go over it, line by line.

Labrador and other Gang members have long differed on whether U.S. taxpayers should be shielded from picking up the healthcare tab for newly legalized immigrants.

Democratic Representative Luis Gutierrez of Illinois, a member of the group, said: “We have agreed on a way forward …. We hope to make an announcement soon.”

Other members of the group, asking not to be identified by name, said it may be at least a few weeks before they are in position to present a finalized bill to their colleagues.

Even then, the way forward is uncertain. On the other side of the Capitol, the Senate’s Gang of Eight – four Democrats and four Republicans – has crafted its own immigration bill that the Senate is to begin considering next week.

The House bill is expected to be tougher on border security than the Senate version, while the Senate bill is expected to have a shorter pathway to citizenship. A number of influential House members have predicted that the House would not approve the Senate version. In addition Republicans in both chambers are pressing for tougher border security provisions that some Democrats oppose.

In addition there have been lingering doubts about the House Gang’s ability to deliver after another tentative agreement earlier this year fell apart.

SENATE PROPOSALS

The Senate bill outlines the most sweeping overhaul of the U.S. immigration system in a generation. It would authorize billions in new spending for enhanced border security and would create new visa programmes for high- and low-skilled workers.

Two leading Senate Republicans on Wednesday unveiled proposals that would require much tighter security on the U.S.-Mexico border before undocumented immigrants could gain legal status under the White House-backed bill.

The two separate amendments, by Assistant Senate Republican Leader John Cornyn and Senator Rand Paul, a potential 2016 presidential contender, are likely to draw fire from Democrats who have said such provisions would erode a proposed path to citizenship at the heart of the bipartisan bill.

Both senators would create strict benchmarks for border security that would need to be met as a condition of granting legal status and a path to citizenship for some 11 million undocumented immigrants.

“My idea takes border security a step further than anybody else in Congress,” said Paul of Kentucky. His proposal would require Congress to write a border security plan and take votes each year on whether it achieved its goals.