The “Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013” is an immigration reform bill that has been received with broad bipartisan support. The bill was negotiated, written, and sponsored by the Senate’s “Gang of Eight”, a bipartisan group of senators committed to immigration reform. The “Gang of Eight” consists an equal number of four Democratic Senators and four Republican senators, including New York Senator Charles Schumer. The bill passed the Senate with over two-thirds majority of Senators voting in favor of it on June 27th, 2013. Since then, the bill’s progress has been suspended in the House of Representatives where it remains controversial amongst Republican members of Congress. 

The bill proposes a pathway first to legal status, then to permanent residency for the country’s growing undocumented immigrant population. An undocumented immigrant would be required to undergo a background check and wait for legal immigrant applicants to be approved and granted permanent residency status. After permanent residency has been granted, an individual may apply for citizenship in the same manner as any other permanent resident would. 

The bill also improves the process of obtaining permanent residency for university students with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics degrees from U.S. Institutions. The bill aims to prevent undocumented immigration by placing new restrictions on temporary work visas (H1B Visa) and placing an additional 40,000 border patrol agents between the border of United States and Mexico. 

The bipartisan partnership in the Senate has not been continued in the House of Representatives. Conservative members of the House of Representatives are deeply opposed to the any meaningful immigration reform. House Republicans have indicated that there’s no chance this immigration bill will pass this year. Speaker of the House John Boehner has stated that he has “no intention of ever going to conference on the Senate Bill.” While acknowledging that the country’s immigration system needs reform, Speaker Boehner has not offered any solutions, nor has he indicated there’s any chance of the House of Representatives introducing their own bill. 

If Speaker Boehner were to allow a vote on the measure, there’s a strong possibility that it would pass. Some Republican members of Congress have voiced their support and have urged Speaker Boehner to address the issue. Republican Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart, who has been representing Florida’s 25th District since 2003, has voiced his support for the bill and has made a public request to Speaker Boehner to act on the behalf of immigrants who have “come to this country for a better life.” 

While chances of the bill passing this year remain low, there’s a possibility of a vote in the spring of 2014, after the upcoming primary election season is over. Republican opposition to the bill may be an effort to win over the more conservative voters, who are usually more active in primary elections. The growing vocal support in favor of immigration reform, however, will likely increase pressure on Speaker Boehner to either offer his own solution or bring the Senate’s bill for a vote.