Now, in a parallel effort, a separate group of four senators will introduce a bill this week dealing with another thorny issue that is likely to be addressed in any comprehensive immigration reform measure: visas for legal immigrants with advanced skills in technology and science. The bill, written primarily by Senator Orrin G. Hatch of Utah, a Republican, and Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, a Democrat, would nearly double the number of temporary visas, known as an H-1B, available each year to highly skilled immigrants. It would also free up more permanent resident visas, known as green cards, so those immigrants could eventually settle in the United States and go on to become citizens.

In a sign of the rapidly changing mood in Washington on comprehensive immigration reform, Republicans, Democrats, and the White House are racing in recent days to see who unveils their proposal first.  Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey, a Democrat who was one of those negotiating the comprehensive principles, said the senate has finally agreed that any legislation should include a pathway to citizenship.

Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, a Republican, also joined the group of eight senators in recent weeks and endorsed comprehensive immigration reform.  Mr. Rubio, a Cuban-American who is a fast-rising figure in the Republican Party insisted on including the exit tracking system as one of the triggers for opening the path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. Mr. Rubio cited estimates that as many as 40 percent of immigrants in the country illegally had overstayed their visas.

Even House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, a Republican, is voicing confidence in the prospects for comprehensive immigration reform saying that a bipartisan group of lawmakers in the House basically has an agreement after more than three years of secret negotiations.  Speaker Boehmer made the previously unreported comments during a question-and-answer session at the Ripon Society, a Republican advocacy group.

This begs the question, why the changing mood in Washington on the topic of comprehensive immigration reform.  First, Americans support the idea of comprehensive immigration reform in poll after poll.

Second, American employers need comprehensive immigration reform.   Whether the employer needs agricultural workers for seasonal and long-term labor, or highly skilled workers in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math, American employers need comprehensive immigration reform to compete in the global economy, attract investors, and foster this country’s entrepreneurial spirit.

Lastly, comprehensive immigration reform is needed because the Hispanic voters, which proved to be the decisive voting block in this past presidential election, expect it.  One news analysis after another concluded that President Obama decisively won re-election because he overwhelmingly won the Latino vote.  As such, Republicans need to be seen as the party advancing comprehensive immigration reform or, come to terms with becoming irrelevant in this country’s political process.

As a first generation immigrant from Cuba, I am encouraged by the support for comprehensive reform.  My hope is that President Obama and Congress modernize our legal immigration system and honor the United States’ heritage as a nation of immigrants.

Eight Senators today released a “Bipartisan Framework For Comprehensive Immigration Reform” which proposes an overhaul of our legal immigration system while expanding border security measures and hardening current employment verification procedures. Most notably, the proposal would give unauthorized immigrants already in the country a chance to earn U.S. citizenship.

The bipartisan framework for comprehensive immigration reform, although the framework is only a very rough outline of what the legislation might look like, is an excellent starting point for the legislative negotiations that will now being in earnest. The Senators involved in the negotiations—Democrats Chuck Schumer (NY), Dick Durbin (IL), Bob Menendez (NJ), and Michael Bennet (CO); and Republicans John McCain (AZ), Marco Rubio (FL), Lindsey Graham (SC), and Jeff Flake (AZ)

The principles of the bipartisan framework for comprehensive immigration reform are as follows:

• Comprehensive immigration reform creates a pathway to U.S. citizenship for the 11 million unauthorized immigrants currently living in the United States. Implementation of comprehensive immigration reform is “contingent upon our success in securing our borders and addressing visa overstays,” which leaves open the question of exactly how much enforcement will be deemed sufficient for a legalization program to begin. Nevertheless, unauthorized immigrants would first register with the federal government and receive “probationary legal status” if they pass a background check and pay a fine and back taxes. Once new enforcement measures are in place at the border and an entry-exit system has been created for the nation as a whole, immigrants with probationary status would be sent to the “back of the line” for a green card and, after that, U.S. citizenship.
• Comprehensive Immigration Reform would include attracting the “best and brightest.” Channels for legal immigration to the United States would be revamped so that they are more responsive to labor demand, especially at the high-skilled end of the occupational spectrum. Green cards would be given to foreign students who earn a graduate degree in science, engineering, technology, or mathematics from a U.S. university. In addition, backlogs would be reduced for both family-based and employment-based immigration applications.
• Strong employment verifications. A mandatory system of employment-eligibility verification that is capable of detecting identity fraud would be put in place to prevent future unauthorized immigrants from obtaining jobs in the United States. Using video kyc, for your customers is a great way to prevent Identity fraud.
• Admitting new workers and protecting workers’ rights. U.S. employers would be allowed to hire an immigrant if an American worker cannot be found to fill a position, within the context of strong labor protections for all workers, both immigrant and native-born.

It goes without saying that this bipartisan framework for comprehensive immigration reform will be attacked from both sides of the political spectrum. Some will say that its enforcement provisions are too stringent; others will say that its legalization provisions are too generous. Regardless, it is a start to serious talks on an enormously complex topic.