Communication on immigration

Senate leaders say it’s time to finally resolve testy issue

WASHINGTON — The Senate’s two top leaders put on a show of camaraderie Monday as their chamber launched its immigration debate, but also laid down markers underscoring how hard it will be to reach a deal that can move through Congress.

“We really do get along, despite what you read in the press,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., at a previously scheduled appearance alongside his counterpart, Senate Majority Leader Mitch Mcconnell, R-KY., at the University of Louisville.

But just days after the two leaders brokered a bipartisan $400 billion budget agreement and helped shepherd it into law, both men made clear that an immigration agreement will be tough.

“The time for political posturing is behind us,” Mcconnell said later Monday on the Senate floor. He said while Democrats have called for “swift action” on immigration, “Now’s the time to back up the talk with the hard work of finding a solution.”

That, he pointedly said, would mean passage by the Senate and the House of a measure “which the president will sign.”

Mcconnell expressed his support for a wide-ranging proposal by President Donald Trump that the Senate is expected to vote on this week.

It would pave a path to citizenship for up to 1.8 million young immigrants in the U.S. illegally, a lure for Democrats that many Republicans oppose.

Trump also wants $25 billion for Trump’s border wall with Mexico and other security measures, as well as curbs on legal immigration — a must for many Republicans.

In his own remarks on the Senate floor, Schumer expressed opposition to such a sweeping approach.

“The only enemy here is overreach,” Schumer said. “Now is not the time nor the place to reform the entire legal immigration system. Rather, this is the time for a narrow bill.”

The comments came as the Senate voted 97-1 — Ted Cruz, R-texas, provided the sole “no” vote — to plunge into an open-ended immigration debate that’s been promised by Mcconnell.

Both parties’ leaders hope debate can be concluded this week, but it’s unclear if that will happen or what the product, if any, will be.

Trump put the onus on Democrats, saying, “I hope the Democrats are not going to use it just as a campaign” issue.