Immigration bill to hit senate floor in June

From U.S. News & World Report:

Photo: Senate Judiciary Committee members Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., left, and Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., confer on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, May 20, 2013, as the committee assembled to work on a landmark immigration bill. (U.S. News & World Report)

The landmark immigration legislation penned by the "gang of eight" lives to see another day. The comprehensive immigration bill survived its first real test when it passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, 13 to 5, Tuesday night.

"I don't think we will make the mistakes we made six and seven years ago because we've had this crucible," Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said. The bill will now have its day on the Senate floor in June when Congress returns after the recess.

Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., announced Tuesday during a press briefing that he will not stand in its way. "The Gang of Eight has made a substantial contribution to moving the issue forward. So far, I'm told that the Judiciary Committee has not in any fundamental way undone the agreement reached by the eight senators," McConnell said. "I'm hopeful we'll be able to get a bill we can pass here in the Senate."

After an onslaught of 300 amendments, the legislation survived the marathon markup with the core principles intact. The legislation sets up a way to control the future flow of high-skill, low-skill and agricultural workers and provides the country's 11 million immigrants who came here illegally a chance to pay back taxes and embark on a long, 13-year path to citizenship.

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