Immigration Reform 2013 News: As RNC Puts Pressure On GOP, Top Republican Says Immigration Bill Has 'Good Chance' of Passing This Year

The GOP's political future appears tied to the fate of immigration reform as a controversial Senate bill awaits a vote in the House sometime this fall--yet one of Washington's top Republicans said the chances of a bill passing this year are better than most realize.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman and Virginia Republican Rep. Bob Goodlatte said on Sunday's CBS "Face the Nation" that there are "good possibilities" that a bill on immigration reform could pass during the 2013 Congressional session.

However, prior to that, Goodlatte, who has voiced his opposition to the current bill under consideration--which would grant a pathway to citizenship for many of the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. and include provisions to tighten border security--said that there are things that have to be done first before an immigration bill can be passed.

"First you have to assure there's not going to be another wave of illegal immigration," he said.

"We have to again, restore the trust of American people by saying that the law is going to be enforced," Goodlatte said. "We need new laws on employment verification, on entry exit visas system, on allowing state and local law enforcement to have a clear statutorily defined role."

Goodlatte reiterated a point he's repeatedly made during the ongoing debate over the immigration legislation up for proposal by the U.S. Senate's "Gang of Eight," which was that immigration reform should be done via a series of smaller, piecemeal bills. However, some have rejected the idea, arguing that immigrants may never be able to become citizens that way.

U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., is one such critic. "The agreement has to be comprehensive," he said. "You have to secure the borders deal with the people that are here and then deal with the people that are coming here on the irrational basis."

"I don't think you can do it piecemeal because people have different interest, an overwhelming portion are willing to go with a comprehensive package," he added. "But doing it piecemeal will be problematic."

With much of its future success as a party possibly riding on the GOP's willingness to support immigration reform--including potentially losing the increasingly coveted Latino voter demographic in a bid to retake the White House if it dismisses the bill in the House--the Republican National Committee has been prompted to act.

On Friday the RNC passed a resolution that called for Congress to pass immigration reform into law by the end of the year.

However, as Time.com notes, while the resolution called for congress to create a special legal status for undocumented immigrants that came to the country as children--known as "DREAMers" by immigration activists--the language did not call for legislators to initiate a pathway to citizenship.

Instead, under the legal status, the RNC wants qualifying immigrants to be granted a renewable five-year work permit, which they would be allowed to retain by providing proof of employment. For undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. that are older than 18 years old now, the RNC called for them to be granted two-year renewable working permits, but not be granted any citizenship pathway.

Additionally, the RNC wants to see legislation include a completed border fence and more border patrols by law enforcement as part of the deal.

In a statement released recently by the Democratic National Committee in response to the RNC's resolution, DNC National Press Secretary Michael Czin said the GOP committee's measure proved that Republicans "still don't get it."

"After last year's electoral losses, the RNC pledged to do a better job reaching out to the voters they had systematically alienated - like women, African Americans, LGBT Americans, Hispanics, and more. But instead of modifying their policies to actually present smart solutions for middle class families, the only thing the GOP can unite behind is a plan to continue to limit the audiences-and voters-to whom they will communicate," Czin said.