This one-page amendment specifies 鈥渢hat no person who has previously been willfully present in the United States while not in lawful status shall be eligible for United States citizenship.鈥�
The bid to put almost a full stop on potential citizenship by illegal immigrants comes from Sen. Ted Cruz (R) of Texas, a conservative firebrand who has staked out a reputation for bluntness after only a few months in the Senate.
Because the architecture of the entire reform bill is predicated on the possibility of citizenship, eventually, for some of the currently undocumented, this amendment stands little chance of clearing Judiciary. Its value: It could show how many Republicans feel compelled to support it and, thus, how many simply won鈥檛 back the reform bill.
