1) Democratic opposition to a “hard trigger” for legalization is one of the greatest impediments to comprehensive reform.

The media has shown little interest in framing the debate over immigration reform as anything other than a dispute between those who support a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants, and a handful of conservative Republicans who oppose it. But the real sticking point for many opponents of the Gang of Eight legislation has always been the lack of a “hard trigger” — a set of verifiable conditions that must be met before illegal immigrants can register for provisional legal status, the initial step before citizenship is (eventually) granted. Republican senators tried on a number of occasions to insert some kind of hard trigger into the Gang of Eight bill, but were ultimately defeated.

However, according to The Hill report, House Democrats working on a bipartisan immigration proposal agreed to include a provision that would have granted legal status almost immediately, like the Senate bill, but would have made the continuation of that status dependent on the implementation of an employment-verification system – e-Verify — within five years. House Republicans had demanded such a trigger, and even House minority leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) was on board. But . . .