Senators move toward immigration compromise

US Republican Senator from Arizona John McCain and Demoratic Senator from New York Chuck Schumer speak during a press conference on an agreement for principles on comprehensive immigration reform framework at the US Capitol in Washington on January 28, 2013. / SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images

WASHINGTON The eight senators meet in private several times a week, alternating between Sen. John McCain's and Sen. Charles Schumer's offices. They sit in arm chairs arranged in a circle and sip water or soft drinks as they debate temporary workers and border security. In a capital riven by partisanship and gridlock, they are determined to be the exception and actually get something done.

This is immigration reform's "Gang of Eight." With them lies the best hope in years for overhauling the nation's byzantine immigration laws - and they know it. That's partly why they are, by all accounts, working amazingly well together as a self-imposed deadline approaches for their sweeping legislation to be released. The progress is happening even though the group includes some of the Senate's most outsized personalities, failed and prospective presidential candidates, one lawmaker dogged by scandal and another facing a potential re-election challenge that could be complicated by his stance on immigration.

"I tell you what, this is one of the best experiences I've had. Everybody's serious, everybody's knowledgeable, they've been around the issue," said Sen. Lindsey Graham-R-S.C., who's up for re-election next year and facing a potential GOP primary challenge from the right. He said it's "sort of what I came up here to do - sit down with serious people to solve serious and hard problems."

In addition to McCain, R-Ariz., Schumer, D-N.Y., and Graham, the gang includes Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., a potential 2016 presidential candidate; Dick Durbin, D-Ill.; Jeff Flake, R-Ariz.; Michael Bennet, D-Colo.; and Robert Menendez, D-N.J., who's battling allegations related to prostitution and his ties to one of his donors.

They meet for an hour or an hour-and-a-half at a time on days when the Senate is in session. No reporters stake out these meetings and aides stand or sit in the background, behind their bosses. They're assiduous about avoiding leaks and tight-lipped on the details of how their talks are going.

"I'm guardedly optimistic," McCain almost invariably says when asked.

McCain and Schumer sometimes take the lead in the meetings but others speak up as issues arise that are of special importance to them. Menendez has made family reunification a focus; Durbin has championed the cause of illegal immigrants brought to the country as children. Graham and Schumer have jointly tried to help broker an agreement between business and labor over a program to bring future workers to the country, which several lawmakers said remains the toughest challenge.

The mood in the meetings varies between lighthearted and serious. McCain is given to ribbing Graham and others. Schumer appears to have developed a genuine fondness for both McCain and Graham. Mostly, there's a focus on getting a bill that can pass and become law, and the sessions are almost an oasis from the fights over the budget that have occupied Congress much of the year.

"It's nice to be in a room where people are actually trying to solve problems and accomplish something," said Bennet.

The legislation the group is working on would secure the border; provide a pathway to citizenship for 11 million illegal immigrants already in the country, contingent on a secure border first; crack down on employers; and improve legal immigration. Senators have indicated some consensus on elements related to border security and the path to citizenship. They are struggling on the question of legal immigration and future workers, and are trading proposals with leaders of the AFL-CIO and Chamber of Commerce to try to get a deal.

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The senators have been working toward a self-imposed March deadline to release their legislation, although it now seems that might slip until they return from a two-week recess the second week of April. They would aim for a vote in the Judiciary Committee soon thereafter, then consideration by the full Senate and from there, the House. Success is far from assured and the process could fail at any point. Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., has so far given the group the time and space to complete their work though he's also signaled his patience is not infinite and he could bring up more liberal immigration legislation drafted by President Barack Obama if the Gang of Eight doesn't produce a bill.

The group came together when Graham phoned Schumer the weekend after the November election. Obama's resounding victory among Latino voters had just sealed his win and underscored to Republicans like McCain and Graham that the GOP needed to act on immigration. Schumer, McCain and Graham all are veterans of past failed attempts on the issue, most prominently in 2007 when legislation backed by then-President George W. Bush failed on the Senate floor.

Schumer later recounted that Graham said, "The band is back, let's do immigration" and told him McCain was on board. "And my heart went pitter patter," Schumer said in telling the anecdote at a breakfast hosted by Politico in January.

The senators worked to round up others. Flake said Schumer approached him during Congress' lame-duck session.

"I said I just always wanted to be part of a gang. I grew up in Snowflake, Ariz., the South side didn't offer much," Flake said.

Rubio had been shopping his own immigration proposals that dovetailed with what the senators were working on.

The Gang of Eight began working on drafting principles. They were forced to speed up their timetable when they learned Obama planned to announce his own proposals and they rolled out their blueprint at a packed news conference at the Capitol on Jan. 28. Since then they've had little to say publicly as they work toward releasing their bill, except to voice cautious optimism that this time they will finally succeed in solving a problem that has bedeviled Washington for decades.

"Everybody there wants to get it done and nobody's looking for political points or political advantage," Flake said. "Everybody's looking to get it done and that makes all the difference."

[retiredanmad]

Homeland security sponsors millions of dollars for education of immigrants.
they just did a video at the national league in California. The money is there to dump the incarcerated illegals (who are in jail for crimes other than crossing the border) yet they don't have money to deport them? WRONG.
Each border governor can call up the national guard, utilize their logistics aircraft (C-130's/C-17's) and start shuttling them down to Panama irregardless of country origin.
The gang of eight needs to re-wicker homeland security funding to use a large portion to complete a solid fence along the entire border area from the Gulf of mexico to the pacific and once complete, THEN discuss what to do with those we haven't incarcerated yet.

[Tank_Commander]

We need to deport the gang of eight.

[knsn_for_cmn_sense]

AND USA moves closer to a third world country.

[LosAngelesCA]

They can talk all they want. It won't pass the House. We CANNOT AFFORD to add MILLIONS of people at the cost of BILLIONS for social security, medicaid and medicare.

The illegal immigrants REFUSE TO PAY every time this issue comes up. Not only that, why should our tax dollars fund the background checks and application processing?

The senate can't chat all they want. It won't pass the House.

Americans are not interested in granting amnesty to lawbreakers, especially those who don't have money to pay fees and back taxes (and who would believe their unofficial records anyway).

[aintfakin]

24lomas says:
No immigration reform. Deport all illegal aliens now. We do not need immigration reform. What we need is to replace all the politicians who support amnesty
----------------------------
good luck with that
they would just be replaced by other politicians who vote for money. Illegal immigrants are too important to too many business' bottom line. The only way to cure the problem is put employers in jail for hard time
That will never happen because all politicians have been and always will be bought and paid for.
oh yeah
did I mention get the money out of the campaign process too?

[24lomas]

No immigration reform. Deport all illegal aliens now. We do not need immigration reform. What we need is to replace all the politicians who support amnesty for illegal aliens. No amnesty. Never. Politicians must not work for illegal aliens. We do not need immigration reform. Over 1 million legal immigrants already enter the United States each year; legal immigration must be cut. The immigration system is not broken because over 1 million legal immigrants come here. The politicians are broken. They must not work for illegal aliens. They must work for US citizens only. We must not grant amnesty to those illegals who are here. Those individuals must be deported now because they do not obey laws. And the politicians who support amnesty for illegals, must not be reelected. Let's replace all the politicians who want amnesty for illegal aliens.

[revamadison]

Whats that you say? No illegal immigration? Of course we need reform! What we need is no further illegals of any kind, first, and then work on those who are already here. Yes they came in illegally, and do need to be sorted out. But, some of them have been valuable assets to our country. They hold jobs that you frankly cannot find US born folks to look at, let alone carry out. If they are willing to work harder, longer, and for less money, and no one else is, then where do you think we are going to find replacements?

[todaymessage]

Many so called illegal workers are holding critical job like medical doctors and nursing, engineers and programmers. how are you going to replace them. they are doing jobs that so call us citizens can't do.

[Ulgnud]

There is nothing to compromise about. Simply enforce the law and clean the illegal invaders out. Cut off all jobs and handouts to illegals in any form. They will be welcome back when legal. The only problem is the immigration laws are not being enforced.

[csuresh]

Tell that to the farmers who depend on these illegals to harvest the crops. No American citizen wants to do these back breaking jobs. CNN did a documentary on this and the work is so hard that CNN person could not continue after a day's work. The solution is to provide work visas to these people who want to come and work in our fields. President Bush tried that but his own party leadership in congress rejected it because of pressure from farmers lobby. The farmers do not want to pay minimum wages to these people if they start working legally here. It is all on how to make more money. Nothing to do with what is right or wrong.