Rep. Joe Heck, a second-term Nevada Republican, has authored a bill which would extend a path to citizenship to many young undocumented immigrants brought to the United States by their parents as children, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The paper writes that Heck, who like much of the GOP's members in the House has opposed comprehensive bills overhauling the nation's immigration system, began shopping his bill last week at a senior center in Henderson, south of Las Vegas, in a meeting with about 40 immigrant advocates and representatives of labor unions and business and education groups. The step is the first in a series intended to rally support for a bill before it's introduced in Congress.
The Review-Journal writes that Heck's bill would extend deportation relief to those who came to the United States before December 31, 2011, and who were 15 or younger when they arrived. Of that group, those who earned a GED or graduated from high school and are in the midst of pursuing higher education (college or a technical school), have begun an apprenticeship or have enlisted in the military could apply for a conditional permanent resident status. That status could become permanent if they complete their degrees or apprenticeships, or serve a full enlistment term or receive an honorable discharge. Having received that "green card", they could go on to apply for citizenship.
The DREAM Action Coalition, an advocacy group for young undocumented immigrants, told the paper it had "reservations" about the December 2011 cutoff date in the bill, but added that Heck should introduce it in Congress to keep up pressure on Republican leaders in the House to act on the issue. "While the window to address immigration is closing this year, we must not let the opportunity to pass something swiftly escape us yet again," Cesar Vargas, coalition director, said in a statement. "Our undocumented communities need relief as soon as possible, and we cannot afford to fall on the all-or-nothing- game."
Heck is planning on running for re-election in 2014 in a southern Nevada "fair fight" district which is about 16.6 percent Hispanic and 12.6 percent Asian, according to US Census data. It went to former president George W. Bush in 2004 and Barack Obama in 2008 and again, more narrowly, in 2012. 74 percent of the district supports immigration reform with a path to citizenship, according to the Nevada View.
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