Senators tour border, say immigration bill near
Source: AP-Excite
By CRISTINA SILVA
NOGALES, Ariz. (AP) - A bipartisan group of senators crafting a sweeping immigration bill vowed Wednesday that they would be ready to unveil it when Congress reconvenes in less than two weeks after getting a firsthand look at a crucial component of their legislation: security along the U.S.-Mexico border.
The four senators - Republicans John McCain and Jeff Flake of Arizona and Democrats Chuck Schumer of New York and Michael Bennet of Colorado - are members of the so-called Gang of Eight, which is close to finalizing a bill aimed at securing the border and putting 11 million illegal immigrants on a path to citizenship
The lawmakers' reassurance that their work would be complete by the week of April 8 came after a public feud erupted between the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO over a low-skilled worker provision in the bill - a spat that remained alive Friday as Congress began a two-week recess. But Flake noted Wednesday that negotiations over the worker program had resumed; an AFL-CIO negotiator also confirmed the talks were back on.
During the tour, the senators saw border agents apprehend a woman who had climbed an 18-foot-tall bollard fence.
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From left, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., and Sen. Michael Bennett, D-Colo., address the media during a news conference after their tour of the Mexico border with the United States on Wednesday, March 27, 2013, in Nogales, Ariz. The senators are part of a larger group of legislators shaping and negotiating details of an immigration reform package vowed Wednesday to make the legislation public when Congress reconvenes next month. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
