Denver – A comprehensive immigration reform bill has about a “50-50 probability” of getting the bipartisan backing needed to win congressional and White House support, said Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., one of about 10 senators working on the legislation.
Salazar said during a news conference Friday that the bipartisan group was trying to reach an agreement by Wednesday. That’s when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has scheduled debate on a measure that passed the Senate last year with little support from Republicans.
Reid postponed the debate a day to give senators a chance to come up with a bipartisan proposal.
“It would be an abdication of duty for the United States of American not to move forward and pass comprehensive immigration reform,” Salazar said.
The measure the bipartisan group of senators is working on first would beef up patrols to secure the borders and then authorize a tamper-proof identification system so employers could be sure their employees are in the country legally.
A possible deal would also give people in the country illegally a chance to earn citizenship after paying fines, taking English and civics classes and waiting at least eight years.
“We need to deal in a realistic and humane way with the 12 million people who are here and who are very much a part of the workforce of America today,” Salazar said.
