Obama's Immigration Plan Would Offer 8 Year Path to Residency

News report on a leaked copy of the White House bill reveals new detail

America's 11 million undocumented immigrants could become legal permanent residents within eight years, under President Barack Obama's version of immigration reform, a news report says.

New details emerged on the president's plan Saturday night after a copy of a draft version of the bill was obtained by USA TODAY. The president has said he will propose his version to Congress for a vote if lawmakers don't work out their own plan soon.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., a key figure in developing the Senate's bipartisan version of the plan, told the paper that Obama's bill would be "dead on arrival" in Congress. He said it "creates a special pathway that puts those who broke our immigration laws at an advantage over those who chose to do things the right way and come here legally."

The president's plan would let undocumented immigrants apply for a newly created "Lawful Prospective Immigrant" visa. To be approved, they would have to pass a criminal background check, submit biometric information and pay fees. That visa would allow them to work and live legally in the U.S. for four years and leave the country for short periods of time. After the four years, they could reapply for an extension, USA TODAY reports.

They could then apply for legal permanent residence, known as a green card, within eight years if they learn English and "the history and government of the United States" and pay back taxes. After that, they can apply for U.S. citizenship, the article said.

Via USA TODAY

Do you support the president's pathway to citizenship plan?

[Thunderchicken]

These steps in this order.

Step 1: End anchor babies.

Step 2: Secure the borders.

Step 3: Deal with the criminals.(Deport them and if they return execute them.)

Step 4: Deal with the rest of the illegals.(Choose which ones will benefit our country and allow them stay. Deport all others.)

[PoliticalSpice]

The people you call anchor babies are u.s. citizens. The 14th amnd is in the constitution, accept the constitution or feel free to self deport.

[Thunderchicken]

@PoliticalSpice

OK, future anchor babies. We need to amend the 14th.

[PoliticalSpice]

@Thunderchicken I'll wish you good luck with that, only cause I know it will never happen.

How about a counter offer. We give all u.s. citizens a 30 or 40 question test on the u.s. constitution, grade it on a curve, and revoke citizenship and deport those who score in the lowest ten percentile. Bet there would be a lot less conservatives in the country if we did that...

[Thunderchicken]

@PoliticalSpice

With this being stirred up, I'll be writing my reps about the 14th again. I should keep copies of the stuff I send them. I could just recycle old emails.

[PoliticalSpice]

@Thunderchicken Who would have thought my post would result in a letter to congress?

[Keyjo]

Tell me again, what were the details of conservative god Reagan's amnesty?
Obama's plan sounds reasonable. And those back taxes and fees or better than the astronomical (and very NOT conservative) costs of deporting 11 million people.

[PoliticalSpice]

Blasphamy!

[Thunderchicken]

The amnesty act under Regan didn't do much but legalize the illegals. IIRC there were some penalties for hiring illegals. But it neglected to deal with our porous borders. I was more POed about that than I was about Chrysler.

You can bail a boat forever. But wouldn't it better to plug the leaks too.

[tomincali]

reagan's shamnesty rang the dinner bell. all who agreed on the things that came with it never followed through by using those laws to the fullest. i keep readying folks here talk on history repeating itself well we all seen what the 86 shamnesty caused . that is another peice of history we should never repeat

there is no reason to try and deport that many people when we have laws on the books already add in a few new ones and make it so rough to live here illegally they leave on their own. as it stands helping illegal aliens stay in the country is a federal felony,use it to the fullest for starters. the petty fines do businesses that hire illegal aliens does little,charge them with that felony also.

[stepped_in_it]

@tomincali Think of the world public and press releases of hundreds of thousands of illegals "marching" to the border starving to death. Does the words Bataan/Holocaust death marches come to mind? How about Africa's famine forced immigration marches. You might not give a rat's patooty about what the world thinks....I do!

[LukeVentura]

Join over 1 million legal American citizens against these law breaking Illegals at NUMBERSUSA.
google it, and register. Take Action.

[MadAmerican]

Once again here is Obama going against the majority of American wishes. Why not just deport them all? Because this is how the democratic party buys votes, just like giving away cell phones. It's wrong and he should be impeached. It's treasonous to allow criminals to be citizens. Once they crossed our border illegally they became criminals. Why is that so hard for him to understand? Oh yes, I forgot. he is a king.

[PoliticalSpice]

So you called for impeaching Reagan at the time?

[stepped_in_it]

"Why not just deport them all? " Now what would be the cost to deport 11 million (which I believe to be understated by at least 50% IMO) illegals? Assume a minimum cost of $5000 to max of $10,000 each (personnel/equipment to round-up, holding cells, "moving" costs to name a few). I'll let you do the math......

[MadAmerican]

@stepped_in_it It wouldn't cost that much to deport them as it would to make them citizens. They could also fine anyone that employs these criminals! Send them back and get the soldiers on the border since we are paying them anyway. There would be no holding cells, no courtrooms. Have the police arrest them, put them on a plane or bus to the border and have them walk back across. My business and other businesses are suffering because they do not pay taxes, are paid cash under the table, and in my field contractors use them and underbid me constantly because they have illegals and I refuse to use them. They are taking labor jobs which adds to the economic problems. Also I have noticed an influx on the QP press of illegals commiting crimes. Do we really need anymore crime?

[stepped_in_it]

@MadAmerican Costs to deport:
http://blog.chron.com/immigration/2011/01/ice...
http://articles.businessinsider.com/2012-01-3...
But, what this "plan" doesn't answer is 1) what to do about the illegals that don't adhere 2) Shoring up our borders.....now 3) fine/jailing employers who continue to hire illegals.
I don't want them here, but, if done right, we can change this into a windfall. Done wrong and it's business as usual (the likely candidate).

[HooverNiebold]

@MadAmerican

As a contractor myself I understand your argument on wages but looking at it from their perspective how many of your employees have a high enough level of commitment to cross borders and work alongside hostile coworkers for a better life? I'm guessing not a single one. Another way to look at it is would you rather have a next door neighbor that has absolutely nothing and has to steal for everything or one who will work day and night for scraps?

[Chromalord]

and a 4 year plan to oppression and poverty.

[Emerald1]

If I remember it correctly Rubio came out with a plan that was usurped by Obama during the election. I like Rubio's better. I find some hope in the fact that 4 Republican and 4 Democrat senators got together and came up with a BIPARTISAN plan. Those Senators...Durbin. D IL, Schumer D NY, Menendez D NJ, Bennet D CO, McCain R AZ, Rubio R FL, Graham R SC, Flake R AZ. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has expressed his support for this BIPARTISAN bill. Maybe there is hope yet. Keep Obama OUT of it.

[PoliticalSpice]

Your on this site. I assume you observe politics. Don't you get it? Obama wants that plan. His leak is designed to create pressure for action.

[Emerald1]

@PoliticalSpice Don't agree...he just wants to take credit for the plan. I'm glad this bipartisan bill hit the news the day before Obama presented his..give credit where credit is due...and that is not Obama.

[PoliticalSpice]

@Emerald1 He gets credit when its signed. Everyone knows he is for this. It's not like his press leak changed that. Seriously, this is how politics works. I'm not being partisan, its a pressure tactic.

[stepped_in_it]

@PoliticalSpice IE.....the president's "main" function is to "guide" congress/senate and to nudge them along on the path he wants them to go.

[Emerald1]

@PoliticalSpice I think Obama just wants to upstage everybody else so he can get the credit. Otherwise, why was he out campaigning for his own plan a day later? He might get the credit in history books but not at the upcoming mid terms....I prefer to think that at least SOME Senators are listening to the people who are begging this dumb Congress to co-operate and stop acting like grade school children. That is what they are there for...

[Zazziness]

I usually hear people complain that illegal immigrants are taking services without paying taxes. If that's the real objection, this should take care of it.
I suspect the real objection for many folks is the "they don't look like Pilgrims" problem. In which case, too bad. Nothing is ever going to make a free country like the U.S. be an homogenous, bland blob of people who all look and dress and cook and act and think alike. And I'm glad of that.

[PoliticalSpice]

Yea, thank goodness they don't cook alike. Ethnic food is one of the things I love about immigrant cultures. With the exception of cilantro (herb of satan).

[Arumizy]

I do not think anyone wants that, i think one of the main reasons is they refuse to assimilate and absorb the American culture which is comprised of many, instead they cling solely to their own and live like they are still in their former country. Very few people i have ever met or know oppose giving them amnesty and legal status do to the fact they are not white europeans, it has more to do with the criminality of their entrance into the U.S, their refusal to assimalte their culture into the melting pot and the fact they do take jobs that our own unemployed could take up. ( The myth it is jobs that Americans would not do is just that myth)

[stepped_in_it]

@PoliticalSpice Salsa isn't salsa with the "herb of satan". One of the things I miss living in the "mid" south is a real salsa, a pitcher of margaritas and warm chips (and a couple of tequila shooters on the side). Can you say designated driver? Down south, it's all water/souped down to a blah!

[PoliticalSpice]

@stepped_in_it Cilantro is the only argument that would persuade me against mexican immigrants. I hate the herb. Ironically, I don't mind the ground seed at all. Guess its cause I support abortion of cilantro! Salsa needs tomatoes, needs chile peppers, needs a bit of bite. Cillantro is unnecessary and unwanted. They should make it illegal. I hate cilantro as much as ann coulter.

[stepped_in_it]

@PoliticalSpice Bahaha.....prejudice against a herb. Wondering if herbs have discrimination protection? Is it just cilantro or are there other herbs on your hit list? LOL

[stepped_in_it]

"apply for a newly created "Lawful Prospective Immigrant" visa. To be approved, they would have to pass a criminal background check, submit biometric information and pay fees." >>Great way to deal with the illegal to become legal! Just one question (maybe 3):
1) What will happen to the ones, when caught after a "time period", that do not attempt to get this visa?
2) What is in this law to stop future illegal immigration from happening (ie..border control)?
3) HMMM.....give me a minute....lost my train of thought......ok, 2 questions!

[mtkopf]

How could they pass a criminal background check when they already broke the law by crossing the border ILLEGALLY?!?!?!?

[stepped_in_it]

@mtkopf The word amnesty comes to mind.....but, I've been wrong before (amnesia maybe).

[mtkopf]

@stepped_in_it yeah I kinda missed that...just woke up. I'm literally in bed, scratching my cajones, and posting here with my phone.

From here on out, my new policy is: no more sending posts without first consuming at least 1 cup of coffee (or an equal amount of any caffeinated beverage).

[stepped_in_it]

@mtkopf Always been my policy! One more tidbit, don't confuse the hands when you're posting and scratching.....but that's just the "ick" factor in me coming out...LOL

[mtkopf]

@stepped_in_it lol!

[texas_cutie75]

I would like to see if the immigrant is a violent criminal that they be deported. We dont need to housing them in our prisons. We need to tighten our borders. That needs to be a top priority!

[justapirate]

Drive 'em back across the border however it takes. Got an anchor baby, either take 'em with you or turn 'em over to the state but you leave. Put the full force of the military on the border to protect it. If they wanna be here there is already a legal process to do that.

[zachsquatch]

If it makes me a bigot to be against someone here illegally, so be it. I say tax them at 50% for the next decade and bar them from sponsoring anyone for citizenship in a foreign country. Also, we need our politicians to have a serious sit down discussion about that 14th Amendment. We don't need to get rid of it, but they need to amend it. A small exclusion to those illegally trespassing on our territory would suffice. Please don't bring up anything about Native Americans, I am legally able to register as a NA myself. The issue is more complex, but I got to pee.

[wonka45ACP]

At one time, protecting public morals was seen as a public safety issue, so prostitutes, polygamists, sexual deviates and some others were not allowed to come here. The idea of public morality seems a quaint concept now, but once upon a time it was important to us.

[Zazziness]

Yeah, maybe there should be public morality laws. So anyone not spending a given amount of time feeding the hungry, sheltering the stranger and visiting the prisoners would be penalized... Would you say jail time or just a fine?
Oh! Or was having the government meddle in people's sex lives the only kind of "morality" that interested you?

[crusader]

I think that the 14th Amendment should be revised to avoid the anchor baby loophole. Also there is no reason the anchor babies mother can not be deported. If the mother wished to leave the baby with legal family in the U.S. she can do that or just take it with her. I do not think we need immigration reform, just need to enforce our current laws and to have strict penalties for employing illegals. Those penalties would force companies to stop hiring illegals and would greatly reduce the incentive for anyone to come to the U.S.

[jessejaymes]

In my view Amnesty will lead to the same thing it did last time. Record numbers pouring across the border. I don't think many will follow an 8 year path to citizenship even so. It requires doing more than they doing now and frankly most I see are pretty content doing what they're doing now. And why shouldn't they be? The control the construction worker trade and virtually every other physical work trade. This whole thing is a farce frankly. You could just ignore the illegals are here with the exception of fining business who hire them such a steep fine per day per illegal worked that they would stop it and the problem would be solved.

[stepped_in_it]

Agreed....it's all a farce without controlling the border, what to do about the ones who don't adhere to the "plan" and (the 3rd one I now remember) what to do with employers who hire illegals. Without these, peeing into the wind is a safer bet!

[mtkopf]

I would also add a very substantial tax to any money wire xfered to another country. Its high time money made here stays here.

I seriously doubt many illegals will follow a path to citizenship. Right now, I don't see an incentive in doing it; the govt is going to fine you and make you pay back taxes and taxes on current and future earnings OR you could go on living the same way you have illegally been living for countless years and hope the govt doesn't catch you.

[stepped_in_it]

@mtkopf You might also add the "rich" to that wire transfer thingy. I've heard that many have foreign bank accounts of money made here!

[mtkopf]

@stepped_in_it good. Serves them em effers right! Maybe they should INVEST IN THEIR OWN COUNTRY instead of betting AGAINST the U.S. dollar.

[mtkopf]

@stepped_in_it further, everybody has a way to fix the economy, that is until it conflicts with their own greedy interests.

[Kellso]

I'm supposing Obama is suggesting this plan is so, after his 8 useless years in office, he would become a legal resident also!!!!!!!!! All jokes aside, if we keep changing laws and rules to suit the whims of a handfull of people and NOT the wishes and desires of the majority, this country is going to become a communist state ruled by the 'clique'.

[methinks]

OK, we can't deport them--that would be cost prohibitive. However, they should not be able to jump in line in front of people who are already in the system to obtain visas legally. That just isn't fair to those that abide by our laws.

Once this or some other law is enacted, everyone goes to the end of the line. That being said, give them green cards and SS numbers and they can start paying taxes plus back taxes. That'll boost the treasury coffers.

[FollowTheMoney]

I received an email from Senator Rand Paul yesterday. He told me that his proposal stipulates that those eligible for visas will be put in line behind those already in line.

[Grubby]

The moron in chief is at it again...playing politics to cement a solid voting bloc by promising them favors. Never mind the LEGAL immigrants who may want to come to this country or to finish processing their green cards....make way for the illegals. Coupled with his refusal to add border security means a never ending stream from ths south of newly dependent, solid democratic voters who are here for one reason only - Obama's handouts.

[FollowTheMoney]

11 million is a huge number, to capture and deport this many people would be an under taking of historical portions. While I for one would be willing to mount this task, society as a whole would never be able to handle it. The fight( and there would be a fight ) would tear the country apart at the seams.
Therefor, Immigration reform is the only viable option at this point. But first, our borders must be secured. Really secure. I'm talking about a major military presents. Shoot to kill secure. No one crosses without permission. Then and only then, can we start working on forgiving the criminals of their blatant breach of national security.

[stepped_in_it]

Using your moniker again......follow the money. And right on!

[Russell797]

The 11 million illegals are not going anywhere, they will be among us one way or the other. May as well integrate them, from the back of line, so they can become fully contributing citizens.

[DARSB]

No matter the details or the outcome of this proposal, Marco Rubio just marginalized himself even more. Memo to Reince Priebus - it's not the messaging, it's the message.

[zachsquatch]

A eight month path to deportation would be more beneficial to our nation.