WASHINGTON – Late last week, Senators Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) outlined their bipartisan proposal for immigration reform in a guest editorial published in the Washington Post. The senators called for a four-part plan requiring biometric Social Security cards to ensure illegal workers cannot acquire jobs; fulfill and strengthen border security and interior enforcement; create a process for admitting temporary workers; and implement a tough but fair path to legalization.

“The American people deserve more than empty rhetoric and impractical calls for mass deportation. We urge the public and our colleagues to join our bipartisan efforts in enacting these reforms,” the senators wrote.

President Obama, who responded saying the proposal “should be the basis for moving forward”, pledged to assist in creating a bipartisan consensus this year around the bill.

The editorial came in advance of a planned Sunday rally in Washington demanding immigration reform.

To read a copy of the guest editorial, click: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/17/AR2010031703115.html.