More delays in the Senate for the bipartisan immigration reform bill that has been in progress for most of this year.
While the Senate had hoped to send a proposal to the Judiciary Committee this week, it looks like the earliest the "Gang of Eight" will have a bill ready is next week. That's after an initial delay from the end of March, before Congress went on recess for the Easter holiday.
Well, they're back in session, but there are still differences to hash out. There is tentative agreement between business groups and labor leaders over 200,000 new visas for low-skilled foreign workers. Businesses have agreed to pay those workers more than local ones, to prevent incentivizing outsourcing, one of the main fears of labor unions.
But now a snag has appeared over agricultural workers. Advocates for the farm workers want them to receive an expedited path to citizenship, one that would take between three and seven years to earn a green card. The current timeline being considered by the bipartisan group would take ten years.
In addition, unions and the growers who employ farm labor disagree on the wage scale for workers. By some estimates, 70 percent of agricultural workers in the country are undocumented, and there is strong incentive on both sides to keep those workers employed in the industry.
The unions have agreed to the deal offered by the Senate, but the growers are still considering their options.
The similar impasse between business and labor was resolved over the recess, and it's likely this one will be resolved soon. But disagreements may continue to pop up, giving recalcitrant and tentative supporters more excuses to drag their heels.
Some Republicans are already couching their support for a deal or offering other proposals, so the senators will need to move quickly if they hope to keep the process moving in a positive direction.
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