The White House and Senate may reach an agreement today on an immigration reform package with legislation going to the Senate floor as early as next week. Early news of the agreement include measures that would promise millions of illegal immigrants already in the United States amnesty, despite opposition to any amnesty program from an overwhelming majority of the public.

According to the Washington Post, the plan would allow illegal immigrants who entered the U.S. before this year a temporary-residency permit while they await a new 'Z Visa' that would allow them to live and work lawfully here. To qualify for the 'Z Visa' the illegal immigrant would need to pass a criminal background check, remain fully employed, pay a $5,000 fine and a paperwork-processing fee. This new visa would be renewable indefinitely, and in some cases allow illegal immigrants to bring their families into the country as well.

While no deal has yet been reached, some legislators are only giving the plan a 50-50 chance of becoming reality.

CapitolWatch supports legal immigration and finds it demeaning to all of those who have followed the law to become residents that those who arrived here illegally are being given a free pass to what they worked for and waited to obtain. We urge all of our members to contact their elected officials immediately and express their opposition to any agreement providing amnesty and contradicting our nation's laws.