Between 10 and 15 Republicans would support a bipartisan immigration proposal in the Senate.

Between 10 and 15 Republican senators are willing to support immigration reform, said Rebecca Shi, executive director of the American Business Immigration Coalition (ABIC), during an event in front of the Capitol in which congressmen participated, including majority leader Chuck Schumer (New York).

"We think there are 10 to 15 Republican senators (who would support) reform ," Shi said of a bipartisan project. He added that the group he leads has met with more than 41 congressmen from the Republican Party on immigration issues.

The number of Republican senators is much higher than what the Democrat Dick Durbin (Illinois), chairman of the Judiciary Committee, had revealed, when he pointed out that between four and five of his opposition colleagues would support modifications in favor of 'dreamers' . Durbin was at the event, but the rain forced him to give a hasty speech where he highlighted the support for the 'dreamers'.

" It is time to finally fix our broken immigration system and provide a path to citizenship for thousands of immigrant workers ... Democrats in the Senate will pursue the goal of comprehensive immigration reform ," said Schumer, who highlighted the work of immigrants during the coronavirus pandemic as essential workers, such as farmers and medical personnel.

Schumer also spoke of the benefit that the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program would mean for carriers.

Activists from different groups, such as ABIC, have increased pressure on Congress to pass a law that grants citizenship to undocumented persons, especially after the decision of Judge Andrew Hanen of Texas , who blocked new applications to the Deferred Action for Arrivals program. in the Childhood ( DACA ), considering that its implementation was illegal under the administration of Barack Obama.

"We consider the matter to be quite urgent, we call on the Senate to move forward on a path to citizenship for dreamers ... Now is the time to approve permanent solutions for these young people seeking to be Americans," said Jane Fernandes of the Presidents' Alliance. on Higher Ed & Immigration.

Prior to Judge Hanen's decision, Republican Senators John Cornyn (Texas) and Thom Tillis (North Carolina) sent a letter to Durbin, to whom they recognize the urgency of advancing legislation that grants citizenship to 'dreamers', for what they asked for an urgent meeting.

"We ask you to program a markup of a law that only addresses the population with the most urgent need: active DACA recipients," the senators say.

In addition to that restriction,  Republicans make the freedom to include border security guidelines as a condition.

"Senators should be free to offer reasonable amendments to this bill," they said. "We hope that such amendments would include proposals related to border security, law enforcement (immigration detention), and verification of employment programs."

The Senate has several immigration proposals on the table, including the Dream and Promise Act , which includes around four million undocumented immigrants, such as 'dreamers', holders of Temporary Protected Status ( TPS ) and protected persons. Deferred Action Deportation (DED).