By
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  Laura Meckler

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  CONNECT

Some influential immigration advocates said Tuesday that they could live with legislation that offers legal status, but not a designated path to citizenship, for the 11 million people living in the country illegally, suggesting there may be more common ground in the immigration debate than is readily apparent.

Key Republicans have said they could support legal status for those in the country without permission. But they have balked at what they call a “special path” for them to obtain citizenship, as provided in a bill that passed the Senate this summer. That legislation allows most of this group to obtain green cards—or legal permanent residency–after a set period of time, which automatically gives someone the chance to apply for citizenship.

How to handle those in the country illegally is the most politically dicey aspect of the immigration debate. Democrats and immigration advocates have said that to offer anything short of citizenship is to create a permanent second class of residents. But many Republicans say it is wrong to reward people who broke the law.

It is unclear whether House Republican leaders will bring any legislation to the floor this year. The calendar is crowded with must-do legislation on fiscal matters, and immigration is a sensitive topic that would likely require leadership to defy the wishes of the party’s conservative wing. It would also require bipartisan cooperation in a chamber that has shown little of it.

On Tuesday, several advocates said they were open to compromise on the issue of citizenship, hoping that GOP leaders will see the policy differences between the parties as surmountable.

Tamar Jacoby, president of ImmigrationWorks USA, a business group that advocates for an immigration overhaul, said that House Republicans are not going to pass a path to citizenship for all 11 million people. Speaking at a forum sponsored by NDN, a Democratic think tank, she said that offering citizenship was a matter of morality for liberal advocates, but that upholding the rule of law was a similar “moral absolute” for Republicans that must be respected.

Legislation, she said, “needs to honor both those moral absolutes.” The answer, she said, is a “path to legal status” that does not mention citizenship but allows it using “existing channels.”

That echoes comments made over the summer by Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R., Va.,), the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. He suggested the Congress could grant legal status to those here illegally and then let them access existing laws to seek green cards if they meet the criteria, such as marrying a U.S. citizen or being sponsored by a citizen child.

“All of those are ways they [illegal immigrants] could then eventually find themselves permanent residents and, ultimately, citizens,” Mr. Goodlatte said on C-Span in July. “But none of those would be special ways that have been made available only to people who have come here illegally.”

Other Republicans have echoed that sentiment, balking at the idea of a “special path” to citizenship for those who broke the law that is unavailable to those who follow the rules.

Republicans have also talked about granting a path to citizenship for many of the illegal immigrants brought to the U.S. as children. Ms. Jacoby said that “when you do the math,” these two policies could together provide the chance for citizenship for as many as 7 million people over the course of 20 years.

“How many of the 11 million would take this deal rather than nothing?” she asked. “How will Democrats who reject this deal explain themselves to Latino voters? …So I see it as a test for both parties. Will Republicans come through? … Will they put this on the table? Will Democrats take the deal or will they stand on principle and come away with nothing?”

Others at the forum appeared open to her idea. Frank Sharry, the influential head of America’s Voice, said a deal along these lines is possible, depending on the details.

He said that listening to Republicans talk about the issue, “I see a deal.”

“If House Republicans come forward with a common sense approach to dealing with the 11 million, I think we’ll get across the finish line this year,” he said.

Simon Rosenberg, who organized the forum for NDN, also voiced support for this sort of compromise. “The two parties are not that far apart,” he said.