President Barack Obama proposed giving gay partners of U.S. citizens the privilege of family member status for the purposes of immigration reform. Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.) warned that including the divisive issue could split the fragile bipartisan coalition in favor of immigration reform. Sen. Harry Reid accused Republicans of just making excuses to not support the legislation. A spokesperson for Sen. Marco Rubio told The Christian Post that the inclusion of gay partners is an issue that senators will be discussing as the bill moves forward.

"Which is more important, LGBT or border security? Huh? I'll tell you what my priorities are," McCain said at a breakfast last week sponsored by Politico.

Graham echoed a similar concern. more >>

Evangelicals who have come together to support immigration reform have expressed concern over the White House's decision to include support for same-sex couples in their official immigration proposal.

While not mentioning the issue during his Tuesday speech demanding comprehensive immigration reform, President Barack Obama's proposal does include measures that pertain to same-sex couples.

The Rev. Gabriel Salguero, president of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition, told The Christian Post that he questioned the inclusion of another hot button issue in an already tense subject. more >>

President Barack Obama announced his support Tuesday for a bipartisan compromise on immigration reform unveiled Monday by the Senate's "gang of eight." If the gang of eight proposal fails, Obama added, he will submit his own legislation to Congress.

"Yesterday, a bipartisan group of senators announced their principles for comprehensive immigration reform, which are very much in line with the principles I've proposed and campaigned on for the last few years," Obama told the audience at Del Sol High School in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The three principles that immigration reform should include, Obama said, are border security, a path to citizenship for current undocumented immigrants, and making immigration easier for immigrants trained in science and technology. more >>

A bipartisan group of senators, known as the "gang of eight," announced Monday an immigration reform agreement. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), one of the gang of eight, held a conference call with supporters, including Christian leaders, thanking them for their effort, according to sources familiar with the call.

The gang of eight proposal has four main parts: a path to citizenship for current unauthorized immigrants contingent upon securing the borders, improving the legal immigration system with a focus on immigrants that help the economy, an employment verification system that will punish employers who hire unauthorized immigrants, and an improved temporary immigrant worker program.

In addition to Rubio, the gang of eight includes Republicans Jeff Flake (Ariz.), Lindsey Graham (S.C.), and John McCain (Ariz.), and Democrats Michael Bennet (Colo.), Dick Durbin (Ill.), Robert Menendez (N.J.) and Chuck Schumer (N.Y.). more >>

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, whose name is also being touted as a 2016 presidential contender, has addressed the need for "comprehensive" immigration reform in an op-ed that appeared in Friday's Wall Street Journal.

Bush co-authored the piece with Goldwater Institute attorney Clint Bolick as part of a preview for their upcoming book, Immigration Wars: Forging an American Solution.  The duo's approach to immigration reform will most certainly run afoul to some conservative leaders who for years have fought any approach to immigration reform short of deporting the estimated 12 million illegal men, women and children in the U.S., and building 30-foot, electrified walls to prohibit border crossings.

First on their list is getting Congress to admit that immigration is not as much a law enforcement issue as it is a result of antiquated and outdated laws. "The nation has changed dramatically since the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, and that legislation has not held up well," write Bush and Bolick. "It has been patched over so many times that it is hopelessly complex and incoherent. We need to start from scratch." more >>

Former Pennsylvania Senator and 2012 GOP presidential contender Rick Santorum said Sunday that President Obama is a "sore winner" based on how he is handling many key issues and that in the end, he doesn't want immigration reform to pass because it might help the GOP.

"That's the problem with this administration. They don't – they're not very gracious winners. And I always said, you know, there's one thing worse than a sore loser, and that's a sore winner. And the president's a sore winner," Santorum told ABC's George Stephanopoulos on "This Week." "He could get something done on deficits and entitlements, but he's got to move his people to do that, instead of forcing Republicans always to come his way. And that's the problem."

Santorum's statements highlight a growing concern among Republican leaders that the president could bring Democrats to vote for some type of compromise budget, but doing so would most likely require the president himself to twist arms for some to vote to decrease or cut entitlement spending. more >>