The Senate’s bipartisan Gang of Eight will reveal its plan for comprehensive immigration reform today that includes a path to citizenship. The sticking point for the group was border security, which in the final draft is quite stringent: it requires billions of dollars’ worth of drones, double-layered fencing, and “persistent surveillance” of the border before any undocumented immigrants who arrived in the U.S. before 2012 can apply for legal status. After paying a $500 fee, any nonfelon immigrants would be granted legal status, then given green cards after a 10-year wait, and eventually full citizenship.
