PHOENIX: A group of US senators who will be influential in shaping and negotiating details of an immigration reform package is traveling to the US-Mexico border in Arizona to get a firsthand look at issues affecting the region.
Republican Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake of Arizona were expected to tour the border yesterday with Democratic Sens. Chuck Schumer of New York and Michael Bennet of Colorado. They are all members of the so-called Gang of Eight — a bipartisan group that has spent recent weeks trying to craft proposed immigration legislation.
The trip comes as Congress is in recess and as the lawmakers wrap up a bill designed to secure the border and put 11 million illegal immigrants on a path to citizenship. President Barack Obama has urged Congress to pass immigration reform this year, and border security is critical to McCain and other Republicans who contend that some areas along the border are far from secure.
“I wish every member of the United States Senate and Congress could see the border,” McCain told reporters in Phoenix on Monday. “Only when you can see the expanse, the difficulties and the challenges of the border, can you really appreciate the need for our border security.”
With top Republicans and Democrats focused on the issue, immigration reform faces its best odds in years. The proposed legislation will likely put illegal immigrants on a 13-year path to citizenship and would install new criteria for border security, allow more high- and low-skilled workers to come to the US and hold businesses to tougher standards on verifying their workers are in the country legally.
McCain sought to lower expectations for the bill during a town hall in Phoenix. He told immigration activists they wouldn’t be completely happy with the measure and warned that the group must overcome difficult disagreements.
“We’ve made progress in a number of areas that I am encouraged by, but there are still areas that we are not in agreement,” he said.
McCain, other US senators to tour Mexico border
