>>> "the los angeles times " reports major damage by the part of eight republican senators seeking to write a bill over b the immigration laws . it reports aides familiar with it saying they have agreed on the most contentious part of the draft, how to offer legal status to nation's 11 million illegal immigran immigrants. it includes requiring them to register with the homeland security department them also file federal income taxes for the first time, pay a fine and have no criminal record. the l.a. times said once granted probationary legal status , the immigrants would be allowed to work but would be barred from receiving federal public benefits including food stamps , family cash assistance, medicaid and unemployment insurance . joining me now, " washington post " political reporter maleka henderson, and jonathan alter . thank you for joining us. it looks like there is a deal. a solid deal.
>> it is not clear that they have a deal but the great thing is they're talking.
>> these are specifics though. this is going beyond, will the republican party wants to get on board after the shellacking. these are specifics on how to get there.
>> they are getting down to nut cracking time and talking in a serious way. and it is rational senators who are talking. ones who want to do some business. so there are still a lot of sticking points. the biggest one right now is what would the flow be of legal immigrants to the united states in what they call the h1b program. that for skilled workers . so because there is a lot of unhappiness among american workers. the labor movement and elsewhere.
>> and businesses are involved in this discussion.
>> so this is a very delicate negotiation. that's why i'm cautious in saying there is a deal. there are still a lot of sticking points. the great news is they're on track to a deal.
>> it is interesting you point out the sticking points. the " l.a. times " notes those things unresolve. how long they would need to wait before applying for citizenship. how visas to guest workers and how to pay for more border patrol officers. a big sticking point. and facing fencing and other security measures in a shrinking budget. how do you pay for whatever is determined as adequate border patrol , adequate security. in these budgetary times we're in, which are crisis mode, how do you pay for all that?
>> right. that's been a stumbling block for years. the conservatives have said first you have to secure the borders before you can have a path to citizenship. really, this is about elections having consequences. everybody in both parties know that the latino vote is extremely important. that to stymie latinos again, to make them keep waiting to come out of the shadows is not good for anybody politically. so both parties have a strong political incentive to get to yes on this question.
>> the " l.a. times " and others have noted what we're looking at, this framework is very similar to what the president has unveiled as his ideas as well. the sources that have indicated what the president wants. let me bring you in on this. jeb bush was on "meet the press" yesterday. they are calling this his full circle supporting a path to citizenship. let me play what he said yesterday.
>> i support what senators graham and rubio and mccain and others are doing with their counterparts. if they can find a way to get to the path of citizenship over the long haul, i would support that.
>> so the first read team said jeb bush supported citizenship in 2012 as well as january 2013 . then his new book opposed it. and after criticism of that opposition, he said he supports it as part of the bipartisan senate framework. is this to jonathan's point that elections have consequences? in course of a few hours, jeb bush tried to clean everything up on "meet the press."
>> you almost need a road map to figure out where he has been on this issue over the last couple days. it brings the question to mind whether he wrote that book. he was so diametrically on a different side of the issue just recently. now he has come full circle . i think his wavering also speaks to the fact that a lot of forecasts in the republican party are not on board with this. i think the vast majority are. 65% according to a flew fox poll. if you saw a lot of that reaction that john mccain got in those town halls , not everyone is on board.
>> thattown, i don't want to make it seem like i'm disparaging the people in that town hall . but they are mostly older white men whom the party now knows it cannot depend upon if it is to move forward.
>> i think the party is one thing. i think just grassroots, every day rank and file folks are very different. one of the issues we'll see out of this plan is that we're going to see some back lash. we haven't really seen very much so far. one of the things that's different, unlike gun control . there isn't a huge sense of public urgency around this issue. that is something that i think both republicans and democrats are going to have to gin up. so far if you look at most polls, most people are concerned about the economy. i think latinos do --
>> isn't that topography? i'm from texas. there is a sense of urgency and has been as far as i can remember. you're seeing the dialogue in georgia, for example, we'll do a segment a little later on the senate race there. the demographic change from georgia. the largest african-american numbers there but now latino voters who now exist in that state who could also help democrats. so i guess maybe it depends on where you live?
>> that's right. i think it depends on where you live and it depends on whether or not you're latino . if you look at the polls, latinos want to get this done now. it is at the top of their list. the economy and jobs is below it in terms wanting to get something done this year. so you're right. i think you are seeing an explosion of latinos . if you look broadly at where most americans are where they want to put political capital , it is more around the economy. that's why you see obama trying to frame this as an economic issue.
>> i think a lot of this is about are these eight guys real legislators? are they legislative craftsmen? it is way easier to stop something in washington than to get it done. this would be the cap stone of several of their careers. an historic moment for them and i think they understand that. the end might be in sight but it is always when they get down to the short strokes.
>> when you look at the geography. chuck schumer , new york, michael bennett , colorado, john mccain , lindsey graham , we're talking about the south and the southwest which going back to nia-malika, that's where you see the argument. and harry reid is from nevada which has a very large latino population. so they wanted the players most engaged to be doing legislation. we haven't spoken about the house. even if they get a senate deal --
>> back from immigration to guns, anything that's being discussed right now when you switch to the house, you hear wonk, wonk. a lot tougher. you know and anticipate a no, right?
>> they don't have a filibuster in the house. they would be able to get to it a vote. the democrats would vote for it. if they could get enough republican votes, they could get it done there, too.
>> there are enough republicans in those states who see this in their benefit to vote for it.
>> thank you both. greatly appreciate
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