Recess over; immigration bill passage seems slim

Eunice Moscoso
COX NEWS SERVICE

WASHINGTON — As Congress returns this week from a monthlong recess, pressure is building for lawmakers to act on immigration, but the chances of passing a major bill are slim.

"We're in Hail Mary territory," said Tamar Jacoby, an immigration expert with the conservative Manhattan Institute for Policy Research in New York. "It's kind of a long shot but I'm not prepared to say it's totally dead."

Legislation to tighten border security and change the nation's immigration laws has been stalled for months because lawmakers can't agree on competing House and Senate bills.

The main sticking point — whether to offer a path to legal residency to most of the 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States — has galvanized groups on both sides.

Immigrants and supporters plan marches this week in Phoenix, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., to push for legalization.