President Barack Obama will soon push for a massive change to U.S. immigration law that would provide a kind of conditional amnesty for roughly 11 million illegal immigrants, import more unskilled and skilled workers, and speed up visas for relatives of new arrivals.
But the White House argues that the ambitious legislation would penalize illegal immigrants seeking legal status.
Obama’s bill was sketched out in a Jan. 12 leak to The New York Times, and it won immediate plaudits from the National Council of La Raza, a major Hispanic lobby group.
The bill does not include provisions favored by immigration reformers, such as NumbersUSA — which wants to spur employment of American workers. That group’s legislative goals include a reduction in the flow of low-skilled workers, and a cutback in the number of “family reunification” green cards offered to relatives of new immigrants.