Immigration reform shows signs of resurrection, against the odds

President Barack Obama has indicated he would be open to a solution to America’s “broken” immigration system that does not include a "special pathway" to citizenship — giving further hope that a bipartisan solution is within the grasp of Congress this year.

The comments came on the heels of the House GOP release of what it termed “standards” that would guide their drafting of any immigration legislation, at a three-day caucus retreat on the Eastern shore.

The standards include tightened border security, a pathway to legal status but not necessarily citizenship for some of the country’s 11 million undocumented immigrants after they pay back taxes and fines, and adjustments to the legal immigration program to encourage workers from particular fields to stay in the United States. Under the GOP framework, the children of undocumented immigrants who meet certain criteria would be eligible for citizenship.

“I'm not going to prejudge what gets to my desk,” Obama said in a Thursday interview on CNN from Wisconsin that was broadcast Friday. “If (House Speaker John Boehner) proposes something that says right away, folks aren’t being deported, families aren’t being separated, we’re able to attract top young students to provide the skills or start businesses here and then there’s a regular process of citizenship, I’m not sure how wide the divide ends up being.”

Obama and Democrats previously favored an approach that allowed undocumented immigrants to attain citizenship if that they met certain requirements. A bill that included such a provision passed the Senate last year in a bipartisan vote but died in the GOP-controlled House of Representatives, facing opposition from hard-line conservative members.

Nonetheless, Boehner and other high-profile House Republicans, including Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan and Cathy McMorris Rodgers have as of late signaled their willingness to again wrestle with the contentious issue, even in an election year.

“This problem has been around for at least the last 15 years. It’s been turned into a political football. I think it’s unfair, so I think it’s time to deal with it,” Boehner said in a press conference.

Obama applauded that development alone as a sign of progress.

“Here’s the good news, though … There is a desire to get it done. And that, particularly in this Congress, is a huge piece of business, because they haven’t gotten a lot done over the last couple of years out of the House Republican caucus,” he said.

The apparent progress comes days after Obama exhorted lawmakers to “finally” heed the call and “fix our broken immigration system.”

Still, reform faces a politically perilous path forward. Groups like the conservative Heritage Action are already expressing their skepticism with “piecemeal amnesty,” while the liberal labor group the AFL-CIO said the House framework, without a path to citizenship, is a nonstarter.