The group described four main pillars: border enforcement, employer enforcement, the handling of the flow of legal immigration (including temporary agricultural workers and high-skilled engineers) and a pathway to citizenship for those who entered the nation illegally. Mr. McCain called the pathway to citizenship the “most controversial piece of immigration reform,” saying that the current situation amounts to “de facto amnesty” and that the illegal immigrants deserve a chance to live legally in the country and ultimately become citizens.

“We have been too content for too long to allow individuals to mow our lawn, serve our food, clean our homes and even watch our children, while not affording them any of the benefits that make our country so great,” he said. “I think everyone agrees that it’s not beneficial to our country to have these people hidden in the shadows.”

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