The bipartisan immigration bill currently under consideration by the Senate Judiciary Committee is still in tenuous circumstances, as lawmakers seek to appease as many groups with disparate interests as possible.
But Republicans are balking at a push to ensure the bill respects the rights of gay and lesbian immigrants.
Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont plans to allow an amendment to the bill that would let partners of gay and lesbian Americans apply for green cards and eventually citizenship under a program that offers the same option to family members or heterosexual Americans.
The amendment will likely pass in committee, which is controlled by the Democrats, but Republicans say that could jeopardize the passage of the bill by the entire Senate.
"It will virtually guarantee that it won't pass. This issue is a difficult enough issue as it is. I respect everyone's views on it. But ultimately, if that issue is injected into this bill, the bill will fail and the coalition that helped put it together will fall apart," said Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, a member of the Gang of Eight that crafted the immigration bill.
Currently, the federal Defense of Marriage Act prohibits the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages, even those performed in states that have legalized them. That means gay partners of Americans are not eligible to apply for citizenship under the current proposals in the immigration bill. In fact, even states that want to allow same-sex couples to apply would likely be restricted from doing so as long as DoMA is on the books.
The Supreme Court is now considering whether to overturn DoMA, but a judgment might not be rendered until after the immigration debate is over, and the justices might uphold the restrictions.
Some Democrats are worried about the amendment, too, though. Immigration reform is a once-in-a-generation shot, so the stakes are high on all sides. If Republicans dig in their heels over same-sex couples, immigration reform could fail altogether, and 11 million undocumented immigrants, including same-sex partners of Americans, will be left without an option for citizenship.
But if reform passes without including gay and lesbian family members, they will be excluded from the process, likely for several more decades.
Democrats must decide if they are willing to take the risk and call the Republicans potential bluff. And Republicans must decide if they are willing to give up the Latino vote for the foreseeable future, all in the name of denying rights to families most Americans support.