The Obama administration’s immigration reforms are lurching towards becoming law. The US Senate just passed a compromise bill 68 to 32, with 14 supportive Republicans on board. The New York Times reports:
Leading up to the vote, many in the “Gang of Eight” that drafted the framework of the legislation took to the Senate floor to give impassioned speeches, including Senator Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida, who is one of his party’s leading Hispanic voices. When Mr. Rubio finished, the other senators in the bipartisan group surrounded him on the floor, patting him on the back and offering words of encouragement. “Good job,” said one. “I’m proud of you,” said another…
The Senate bill provides a 13-year path to citizenship for the 11 million unauthorized immigrants in the country, as well as tough border security provisions that must be in place before the immigrants can gain legal status.
Senator Rubio, in addition to being on the right side of history on this issue, is also an outspoken fan of hip-hop, including Tupac.
Rich Stolz, who directs the Seattle-area immigrants rights group OneAmerica, reacted in a press release: “This bill has its flaws. Our economy and our Constitution can ill afford the financial and human costs of such a massive border surge. We will work vigorously to change these provisions before this bill becomes law in order to protect Washington’s border communities…However, the path to citizenship—the heart of this bill—is largely intact and will provide relief for millions of immigrant families around the country.”