Sweeping immigration reform, which was approved by the Senate in a decisive 68-32 vote late last month, would provide amnesty for as many as 11 million undocumented workers. Plenty of obstacles stand in the way of the bill becoming law, not least a rancorous House of Representatives. But the Senate’s bipartisan support steps up the pressure on the House to adopt matching legislation.Passage could happen early next year, says Daniel Clifton, the Washington analyst at Strategas Research Partners. “Although at times it will look as if the House and Senate cannot agree on a final immigration reform plan, most...

U.S. immigration authorities began flying deportees deep into Mexico Thursday in an effort to discourage them from trying to return, U.S. and Mexican officials said.The first of twice-weekly flights from El Paso, Texas, to Mexico City left Thursday with 133 deportees aboard, all men.ICE spokeswoman Nicole Navas said the flights will accommodate up to 136 men and women but no children. Deportees fly from throughout the United States to Chaparral, New Mexico, for a short bus ride to El Paso.The flights are not voluntary, unlike a previous program to deport Mexicans arrested by the Border Patrol during Arizona’s deadly...

As the immigration debate moves to the House of Representatives, Americans are fully engaged. Is it too much to ask that they also be fully informed?Not many are. They have strong opinions on a subject they don’t really understand. They know what they believe, but they long ago stopped asking themselves why they believe it. Worst of all, as bad as the immigration problem is, some of the solutions they propose range from the nonworkable to the nonsensical.One proposed remedy sticks out as the nuttiest of all. In fact, if you love this country, it’s actually quite offensive.via Opinion:...

The prospects for an immigration overhaul effort that could reshape the contours of American society appeared grim Wednesday after a closed door meeting of House Republicans.A majority of the fractious House Republican Conference lined up in opposition to (barely) bipartisan legislation already approved by the Democratic-controlled Senate, despite the urging of leaders to do something on the issue.NPR’s Tamara Keith tells us that after the meeting, Colorado Rep. Doug Lamborn said “there’s almost unanimous agreement among the Republicans that the Senate bill is fatally flawed.”The Senate bill includes a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, a provision that’s anathema...

Republicans in the House of Representatives say any immigration bill they pass must ensure that the nation’s Southwest border with Mexico is secured before any process can begin for undocumented immigrants to apply for citizenship.However, as House Republicans prepare to meet Wednesday to plot the way forward on immigration legislation, there is no consensus among them on who should be able to apply for citizenship, exactly how to secure that border or what “secure” even means.The Senate passed a bill last month that would allow the nation’s 11 million unauthorized immigrants to get temporary legal status as the federal...