Republican leaders in the House of Representatives released a long-awaited list of standards on immigration reform legislation on Thursday. The announcement comes seven months after the Senate approved its own comprehensive bill that stalled in the House.
The GOP standards include a pathway to citizenship for young people brought to the U.S. as children, and legal status for the remaining 11 million undocumented immigrants currently in the country. Like the Senate bill, the Republican standards also support changes to the visa system, increased border security and create a biometric system to track who is entering or exiting the United States.
“I believe these standards represent a fair, principled way for us to solve this issue, beginning with securing our borders and enforcing our laws,” House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said. Even with the standards, however, it remains to be seen whether comprehensive immigration reform—a priority for President Barack Obama—will become law this year.
