Immigration Reform News 2013: 'Gang of Eight' Forms Agreement on Path to Citizenship

The bipartisan group of senators called the Gang of Eight has agreed on a deal to offer a path to citizenship for many of the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the country.

Immigrants who want to apply for citizenship will need to register with the Department of Homeland Security, file federal taxes for each of the years they lived in the country and pay a fine, though the amount of the fine has not yet been determined.

Applications for citizenship will only be accepted from people with clean law enforcement records.

If an immigrant completes that process and if accepted, they will need to undergo a period of probation before being granted citizenship. During that time they will not be eligible for federal assistance or benefits like food stamps, Medicaid or unemployment insurance, but they will be able to work legally.

The length of the probationary period is still undecided, but it could be as long as 10 years.

If the terms of the agreement seem onerous for undocumented immigrants, it is because more conservative members of Congress are pushing for harsh punishments for people they call "lawbreakers."

While it may be difficult for many undocumented immigrants to meet the requirements set forth by the agreement -- particularly if the monetary penalty is substantial -- under the current legal situation, no amount of waiting leads to citizenship, and the undocumented to not qualify for federal benefits anyway.

At least immigrants who apply for citizenship will be able to avoid deportation in the meantime.

The current agreement means the immigration reform bill is closer to being completed, but many other issues must still be worked out. Business leaders want to be able to import more skilled labor from other countries, without facing the logistical and legal hurdles of verifying the immigration status of workers themselves.

Labor leaders, meanwhile are worried that an increase in workers from other countries will undermine employees already in the country.

The senators acknowledge that their original goal of presenting the bill before the end of the month will likely not be met and will probably be delayed until mid-April. The White House seems to agree, as President Obama told a group of religious leaders as much in a meeting last week.