Immigration Reform News 2013: House Pushes Piecemeal Bills With 15-Year Wait for Citizenship As More Conservative Alternative

While the Senate seems likely to pass a bipartisan immigration bill eventually, whatever legislation comes from that debate will then need to pass the more conservative House of Representatives, and some House members aren't waiting.

A bipartisan group of reps has been working on an immigration plan for some time, though it's gotten much less press (and it's much less complete) than the bill that has taken shape in the Senate.

Now, House Republicans are pushing to unveil several different options for immigration reform, each offering a small adjustment to the arcane morass that currently passes for immigration procedure in the United States.

The House bills are far less progressive than the one in the Senate, which itself is a compromise measure now agreed upon by business and labor, Democrat and Republican -- President Obama's original proposal has been shelved for now pending the outcome of the current debate.

The House bills would extend the path to citizenship to 15 years, rather than the 13 years required by the Senate bill. There would still be a 10-year wait for a green card, and applicants would be able to stay in the country in the meantime. Under the current system, undocumented immigrants must return to their countries or origin and wait out their years before applying, a requirement far too onerous for people who often have their entire lives and families here in the United States.

Of course, many House members aren't even sure they want to allow undocumented immigrants to gain citizenship, which is the entire point of the Senate bill. It's likely House conservatives will need to come around on the issue, though, since the Senate has said any bill without a path to citizenship is a total non-starter.

The House legislation also draws up a guest worker program that is far more pro-business than the Senate plan, as conservatives have been loath to sign onto legislation agreed to by labor unions.

Republicans may just be trying to delay the Senate bill long enough to allow opposition to form into a coherent movement, though whether that will happen at all remains to be seen.