A bipartisan group of US senators has unveiled a plan for sweeping reform of the immigration system this year.
Senator John McCain: “What has been created is a de facto amnesty”
The framework calls for a path to citizenship for many of the 11 million
undocumented immigrants in the US, while tightening border security.
The eight senators promoted their proposals a day before President Barack Obama presents his own blueprint.
Correspondents say conservatives’ hard line on immigration has become an electoral liability for Republicans.
In last November’s elections, President Obama, a Democrat, won more than 70% of the Hispanic vote.
‘Time is right’
Senator Charles Schumer of New York told Monday’s news conference he
hoped the bipartisan group’s blueprint could pass the Senate by late
spring or summer.
But many conservative lawmakers denounce a path to legalisation for undocumented immigrants as an “amnesty” for lawbreakers.
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