New 'Gang of Eight' on immigration
New 'Gang of Eight' on immigration
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http://images.politico.com/global/20...mer_605_ap.jpgSchumer announced that he and Graham were joining forces on immigration. | AP
By SEUNG MIN KIM | 12/7/12 2:06 PM EST
Make way for a new Gang of Eight.
An octet of senators has begun to meet to discuss immigration reform, multiple sources told POLITICO. It’s a possible sign of progress on what’s expected to be a top legislative priority on Capitol Hill next year.
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Sources said the fledgling group’s members include: Democratic Sens. Chuck Schumer of New York, Dick Durbin of Illinois, Michael Bennet of Colorado, Bob Menendez of New Jersey, and Republican Sens. John McCain of Arizona, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Mike Lee of Utah and Sen.-elect Jeff Flake of Arizona.
Some of the senators are already publicly teaming up on the issue. For instance, Schumer announced on “Meet the Press” shortly after the election that he and Graham were joining forces again on immigration, reviving talks from 2010 when the duo had outlined a four-point comprehensive reform proposal.
“Graham and I are talking to our colleagues about this right now and I think we have a darn good chance using this blueprint to get something done this year,” Schumer said on the Nov. 11 show. “The Republican Party has learned that being … anti-immigrant doesn’t work for them politically and they know it.”
Several of the members have been key voices on immigration in the past. McCain was a top negotiator in Congress’s last major attempt at comprehensive immigration reform five years ago. Flake drafted an immigration overhaul plan in 2007 with Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.). And Durbin is one of Congress’s most vocal advocates of the DREAM Act.
Schumer and Lee also coauthored an immigration proposal last year that was designed to attract foreign investors to purchase property and live in the United States.
Legislative leaders in both parties have said they want to tackle immigration reform in the next Congress. And President Barack Obama made clear in an interview shortly before his reelection that the issue would be a top priority of his in a second term.
“I am fairly confident that they’re going to have a deep interest in getting that done,” Obama said of Republicans in an interview with the Des Moines Register.
“And I want to get it done because it’s the right thing to do, and I’ve cared about this ever since I ran back in 2008.”
New 'Gang of Eight' on immigration - Seung Min Kim - POLITICO.com
Sen. Lee rules out ‘amnesty’ as he works on immigration-reform team
By Matt Canham
The Salt Lake Tribune
First Published 34 minutes ago • Updated 7 minutes ago
Washington • Sen. Mike Lee opposed amnesty for illegal immigrants in his 2010 campaign and he continues to oppose it now, which makes his inclusion in a bipartisan group working on comprehensive reform all the more surprising.
Lee is one of four Republicans holding private talks with four Democrats in hopes of overhauling the nation’s immigration laws by the end of 2013.
And yet, Lee is the only participant who has never supported a pathway to legal status or citizenship for the more than 11 million people in this country illegally.
"I’m not interested in anything that offers amnesty and I’ve made no secret about that," he told The Salt Lake Tribune on Wednesday. "But there, I think, is potential to find common ground."
Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who is spearheading the effort, personally asked Lee to participate, in part because the two had worked on a smaller immigration bill in 2011. Schumer refused to talk about the working group or Lee’s involvement, but he did offer a quick compliment of the Utah senator.
"In general, I have tremendous respect for Mike Lee even though we disagree on a lot of issues," said Schumer. "He is thoughtful and hard working."
The other Democrats involved are Sens. Dick Durbin of Illinois, Bob Menendez of New Jersey and Michael Bennet of Colorado. The Republicans joining Lee are Sens. John McCain of Arizona, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Sen.-elect Jeff Flake of Arizona.
Such working groups are common in the Senate, though their success is not. A similar "Gang of Eight" has met for the past few years in an attempt to craft a fiscal reform bill, a goal that has eluded them.
What some staffers have jokingly referred to as the "Gang of Ocho" has met and had preliminary talks, though the hard negotiations won’t take place for months and as a result the members are hesitant to discuss the effort in detail.
Menendez welcomed Lee, one of the Senate’s most conservative members, to the conversation, which has largely stagnated since Congress rejected immigration reform pushed by President George W. Bush in 2007. All of the participants, except for Bennet, Flake and Lee were part of that effort.
Lee rules out