The devil is in the details, goes the cliché that has been trotted out repeatedly ever since a bipartisan group of eight senators unveiled on Monday a general set of principles for an overhaul of the immigration system.
And in a news conference Thursday afternoon, Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York and a member of the group, offered a glimpse of one of the more vexing details that still needs to be worked out. With Republicans insisting that a pathway to citizenship be contingent on a securing of the nation’s borders, who will decide when the borders are secure, and what metrics will used
Mr. Schumer first referred to the group’s bipartisan blueprint, which calls for “a commission comprised of governors, attorneys general and community leaders living along the Southwest border to monitor the progress of securing our border and to make a recommendatio regarding when the bill’s security measures outlined in the legislation are completed.â€
“The purpose of that committee,†he said, “is to get input from them, to have them be part of the process, for them to understand we’re not trying to roll over them but get a great deal of input. But, as Senator McCain points out, it would be unconstitutional to delegate things to that committee, and what we’ve proposed is that the D.H.S. secretary, whomever it is, will have final say on whatever metrics we propose.â€
Mr. Schumer continued, “Now we think those metrics will be quite objective.†He added: “There will be objectives so there’s not that much leeway. But what we envision is that, because they’d be objective, the committee, the advisory committee and D.H.S. will in all likelihood be agreed.â€
Follow Ashley Parker on Twitter at @AshleyRParker.
