The Washington Post has an outline of the Pence-Hutchison immigration plan.

Meanwhile, the proposal is being criticized by Senators who crafted the McCain-Kennedy bill. This via Congressional Quarterly ($):

“I think some of it seems difficult to implement,” said Mel Martinez, R-Fla., who played an active role in crafting Senate bill provisions that would lead to citizenship, over time, for most illegal immigrants who can show they have been in the country at least two years.

Martinez said he was particularly concerned about a Hutchison-Pence proposal that would require all illegal immigrants to leave the United States before seeking visas to work here, and about the length of time immigrants would have to wait to be eligible for permanent residency.

Ken Salazar of Colorado, a leader on immigration among Senate Democrats, said the Hutchison-Pence proposal appeared “unworkable.” A plan that requires illegal immigrants to leave would have the reverse effect, he said, driving many deeper into hiding.

The Senate bill had the support of “20-plus Republicans and most Democrats,” and “that’s where we should start,” Salazar said.

Finally, Pence and Hutchison have penned an OpEd for today’s Washington Times in which they lay out their plan.

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