A group of Democrat and Republican senators released the Bipartisan Framework for Comprehensive Immigration Reform, the latest bipartisan effort for comprehensive immigration reform to fix the broken U.S. immigration system. Although the legislation is not drafted yet, the framework of the plan is based on the following four principles:

1. Providing a path to citizenship for unauthorized individuals currently residing in the United States, contingent upon improving border security and combating visa overstays.
2. Reforming the immigration system to improve the U.S. economy and strengthen American families.
3. Creating a mandatory electronic employment verification system – this system would differ from E-Verify, which is mandatory only for federal contractors and in some states.
4. Improving the process for issuing nonimmigrant work visas (i.e., H-1B, L-1, etc.).

The plan was made public today. The draft legislation is not expected to be unveiled until March, with the expectation that it will be voted on that month. President Obama is scheduled to speak tomorrow in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he is expected to provide a blueprint for his own immigration reform proposal.

Photo credit: David Franklin