Immigration Reform 2013 News and Polls: Breaking Down the House Democrat Bill; What Does It Mean and Can It Pass on the House Floor?

In the midst of a government shutdown, the battle on Capitol Hill for immigration reform took another turn on Wednesday when House Democrats introduced a new bill to reform the nation's immigration laws--one that sets a specific number on how many undocumented immigrants could get legal status and targets a high number of arrests on the border.

The back-and-forth debate between Republicans and Democrats on the immigration bill proposed from the Senate in June centers around multiple issues, though few are more contentious than the provision of a pathway to citizenship for many of the roughly 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the U.S.

So far, three Republican Representatives, Texas-based legislators John Carter and Sam Johnson, and Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho, have walked away from a House panel's efforts to create their own comprehensive immigration reform bill. That leaves only one Republican, Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., on the House immigration reform panel.

As the Washington Post reported, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and more than a dozen Democrats presented their own version of the bill to overhaul the rules and laws governing immigration in America. The bill still offers to uphold two of the Senate bill's cornerstone provisions: a pathway to citizenship and increased border security, except the proposal offers differing alternatives for how to get there.

Granting Legal Status to Undocumented Immigrants

The subject of providing a pathway to citizenship for immigrants living without authorization in the U.S. has been a thorny one.

Democrats and immigration activists support the measure as a way to usher the roughly 11 million undocumented immigrants inside U.S. borders out of the shadows and legally into society, while hard-line GOP right wingers have opposed such a move as granting "amnesty" to people who broke the law.

Under the House bill unveiled by the Democrats, the number of immigrants that would be granted legal status does not differ from the Senate bill--both would grant approximately 7.7 million undocumented immigrants across the nation a "registered provisional status."

What that means is immigrants in this category would have to pay a fine of $1,000, along with other penalties, and they would be able to work and live in the U.S. legally, only without federal benefits, for up to 10 years. At the end of those 10 years, qualifying immigrants would be able to apply for permanent residence.

Border Security Provisions

One of the starkest differences between the House and Senate proposals lies in the controversial question of border security. The Senate version of the immigration package, which passed in June by a majority in the Senate, 68-32, called for the addition of 20,000 more border agents, the installation of 700 miles of fence along the U.S.-Mexico border and funding $3.2 billion in tech upgrades along the border.

However, the House bill eliminates that language from its version, and includes in its place a border control plan that was unanimously approved by the House's Homeland Security Committee. Under that provision, the Department of Homeland Security is required to come up with a plan that assures that 90 percent of people trying to illegally cross the border could be apprehended within a certain time frame. In high-traffic areas, a plan would be required within two years; for the entire southern border, that would be five years.

Any plan submitted by the department would have to be approved by Congress prior to being funded. The border control plan originally came from Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas.

Addition of More Legal Immigrants

The House bill keeps the Senate bill's plans regarding legal immigrants. The House bill from Democrats looks to overhaul the system currently in place for legal residents and temporary workers.

The bill that the Senate proposed allows immediate family members of legal residents--spouses and children--to apply for green cards, as well as permitting more high-skilled and highly educated workers into the U.S. and will attempt to reduce the backlog of visa applications currently in the system.

Chances of Passing on the House Floor

While labor and watchdog groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union, the AFL-CIO and America's Voice have praised the bill, the real test is getting it past House Republicans, who have strongly opposed not just the Senate bill, but the idea of passing a large comprehensive bill for immigration reform. Instead, House Republicans largely favor a piecemeal approach of passing a series of smaller bills reforming U.S. immigration laws.

Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, which oversees immigration legislation going before the Senate, told USA Today Wednesday that the House bill submitted by the Democrats "is basically the Senate bill. I strongly oppose the Senate bill."

Rep. Steve King, R-Idaho, a staunch opponent of immigration reform, is also reportedly coming up with an "immigration whip" group with the aim of stopping any legislation that includes a pathway to citizenship in its plans.

"Each day that has passed without floor action has been good for the rule of law and good for the rule of sovereignty," King told The National Journal, according to Fox News Latino.

However, some Democrats on Capitol Hill were still hopeful that the two opposing parties could come together on a deal for immigration reform.

"I still think we have a chance to work together and get something done," said Rep. Luis Gutierrez, an Illinois Democrat, on Wednesday.