Sen. Jim Inhofe said on Monday that he would reserve judgment on any comprehensive immigration reform legislation because “I don’t think we have all the answers.”
“There are so many unknown things right now,” the Oklahoma Republican told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. “When they talk about a path to citizenship, they don't have any of the details.”
Inhofe, the ranking GOP member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, was referring to legislation put forth in January by the bipartisan Gang of Eight senators that included Republican Marco Rubio of Florida and Democrat Chuck Schumer of New York.
Schumer said over the weekend that all of the major business-labor issues had been resolved regarding their bill. They plan to put forward a deal after Congress returns from recess later this month.
Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has said that his committee has already held dozens of hearings on the issue.
“It’s going to have all these amendments, and so I would almost say to my good friends, the Republicans and Democrats, that they don't know enough right now in terms of what they've put together,” Inhofe told CNN. “There are too many things, too many changes that could take place. There is no specific path to legal entry.
“There is no specific path to citizenship, and there's not any of the answers in terms of the border. So it's a work in progress.”
Inhofe, who spoke to CNN from Texas, where he was touring the U.S. border with Mexico, said he was far more concerned about those immigrants who came to the United States legally.
“I have been to a large number of naturalization ceremonies,” Inhofe said. “I’ve looked at these people who came over the legal way, the hard way, and I can tell you now that my heart bleeds every time I hear people talking about an easier way for illegals to become citizens.”
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