0 they need to partner with the democrats on immigration reform, or basically be left in the dust. this is just one of many issues. senator chuck schumer new york led seven of his senate colleagues in announcing a bipartisan plan for immigration reform today. they want the proposal to be pushed through the senate this spring. >> for the first time ever, there is more political risk in opposing immigration reform than in supporting it. >> the plan is a common sense approach to give 11 million undocumented workers in this country a chance to become citizens without fearing deportation. >> if you got up this morning and had fruits for breakfast, it was probably picked by the bent back of an immigrant worker. if you slept in a hotel or motel of the nation, you probably had your room done by an immigrant worker. >> the problem is in the past the republicans have screamed amnesty whenever immigration reform comes up. this process is not automatic amnesty. the senators are calling it a tough but fair path to citizenship. an undocumented worker must complete a background check and be clear of any felony charges. they must pay any fines and any back taxes. there is a requirement to learn english and american civics over the course of the next several years. after passing these benchmarks, an undocumented immigrant will be granted legal working status. they will be issued green cards on the condition of the border being made secure. i'm a little confused on exactly how that works. we'll get to it in a moment. reform advocates hope the involvement of republican senator marco rubio will bring nervous conservatives along. in the house, speaker john boehner says he remains optimistic in legislation moving forward. republican congressman mario diaz-balart says he has been working with democrats in his chamber. >> we've seen that the speaker has said he wants to get it done. we've seen what the minority leader says that they want to should be ours for a variety of reasons. and we've got to understand that. >> but if john mccain wants to understand why the republican party faces this problem, he might want to watch some of his own campaign ads back from 2010. >> have we got the right plan? >> the plan is perfect. you bring troops, state, county, and local law enforcement together. >> and complete the dang fence. >> it will work this time. senator, you're one of us. >> i'm john mccain and i approve this message. >> well, politics does not exist in a vacuum. there are consequences to policies like self-deportation and killing the dream act to keep children of undocumented immigrants in the united states. senator dick durbin of illinois is intent on keeping a dream act component as part of the new legislation. >> the dream act is going to be an integral part of comprehensive immigration reform. the dream act will give to these young people the chance that they have been dreaming of, begging for, pleading to give an opportunity. >> i'm sure senator durbin is happy to have his colleagues on board this time around. but when the dream act was voted down in the senate in 2010, one of the no votes was this man, who was up there on the stage today, senator john mccain. another no vote was senator lindsey graham, who is part of this group of eight, who is also a proponent of this new senate plan. these senators see how their votes and attitudes have damaged the republican party in the image business, but the voices of dissent are still out there. >> i don't know that there is any stopping this. it's up to me and fox news. and i don't think fox news is that invested in this. but there is not -- i don't think there is any republican opposition to this of any majority consequence or size. we'll have to wait and see and find out. >> well, rush doesn't have to run for election, does he? never underestimate the desire of conservative lawmakers to please the drugster. congressman lamar smith of texas has already attacked the senate plan with a dreaded "a" word, by granting amnesty. by granting amnesty, the senate proposal actually compounds the problem by encouraging more illegal immigration. there is no reason for a holdup. it's time for millions of undocumented workers to stop living in fear, and it's time for republicans to stop living in fear of the most extreme elements of their own party. get your cell phones out. i want to know what you think. tonight's question, do you trust republicans on immigration reform? texas a for yes. text b for no. to 622639. our blog is there for a comment at ed.msnbc.com. we'll bring you the results later on in the program. joining me tonight is one of the senators who is part of the team to reform immigration in this country. senator robert menendez of new jersey, one of the senators involved in this proposal. senator, good to have you with us tonight. >> good to be with you, ed. >> i know that you spent a lot of time and effort on this, and i just to start with, with so much conversation i've had on the radio on this, you know, i think what these 11 million undocumented workers want is a guarantee that if they come out of the shadows, that they're not going to be deported. a lot of them are living in fear. i think that this is not talked about enough. and this is really where they are as an individual, as a worker. they're saying okay, if i come out of the shadows, am i safe? can you answer that tonight, senator? >> well, the answer is unless they have a criminal record, yes, they would be safe. they would have a pending status during this process. they'd go through a criminal background check. of course, if there is a criminal background, we don't want them in this country. but the overwhelming number of these people by far are people who came here in pursuit of the american dream. and so they will have a pending status. they will be able to work during that period of time. they'll have to obviously pay back taxes if they have any due, and pay future taxes. they'll have to learn english, which we have never required for permanent residency. we have only required that for u.s. citizenship. and they will have to continue to wait until those who are waiting under the existing law and have a visa pending to be reunified with their family in the united states, those come first. they would come later. but yes. that would be safe. >> senator, what about those employers who hire undocumented workers? i mean, how are we going to deal with this? and there are hundreds of thousands of businesses across america that employee 11 million undocumented workers. how are they going to come out of this legislation? >> well, clearly, one of the centerpieces of the principles is that we will go after employers who employee undocumented workers. we're going to have a more foolproof system of verification of a person's right to be employed in this country as part of this process. we're also going to look at how do we permit those who come here under the law to do certain jobs that maybe we cannot get in america, because i'm ultimately for any american who wants to do any job first. but in the absence of being able to achieve that, then how do we have those people come here with labor protections as well. that's part of what we're going to work towards. >> there is a major focus on border security. i want to point out just last year, the united states spent $18 billion on immigration enforcement. border crossings are at a 40-year low there are over 21,000 border agents and six unmanned aircraft patrolling the border. why such a focus on border security when we've made so much of a commitment since 2005 to right now? >> well, there is no question under the obama administration more efforts have been done at the border than any other time. you just listed a whole host of them there are many more. the question is how do we use technology instead of personnel to achieve a greater border security, and how do we focus our existing resources to border crossings that are critical both for our commerce as well as our security? >> are you confident that there is going to be enough republican support to get this thing done? it has failed in the past. we really haven't had anything in over several decades. we have gone from three million. now we're up to 11. i think there is more than 11 million undocumented workers. i think that's a low number. i could be wrong on that. i mean, are you going to have enough republicans to do this? because this is really been a strong conversation in progressive circles in america. the progressives and liberals are really pushing for this. >> well, ed, look, elections have consequences. and i think our republican colleagues woke up to the new demographic in this nation as expressed by the election results. as i traveled the country in this last election and in my own reelection, i said if we want to have immigration reform, use your vote to send that message. i think that was done. and so the american people in poll after poll support by significant majorities the type of reform we're talking about. latino voters expect it. democrats want it, and republicans need it. >> senator robert menendez, i have to ask you one quick question here. on the vote for the sandy relief bill tonight, do you have a comment on that? >> yeah. >> it's been a long fight. is this really going to help people in relief? >> absolutely, ed. it's delayed 91 days. we should have never had to wait that long. this is the united states of america. it means we respond to our fellow americans in times of crisis and emergency and disaster. but relief is finally on the way. and now we're just going to make sure that after the president signs this bill, which i know he'll do in short order, that we get secretary donovan, who was named by the president to oversee this relief to make sure that money comes out to our citizens, to our homeowners, to our businesses, to our communities. >> are you -- a majority of republicans voted against it. your thoughts on that. >> you know, i said on the senate floor today that never in two decades have we offset emergency disaster relief, and that i will judge my colleagues in any future set of circumstances by how they treated the northeast. >> okay. >> and so i'm going to remember the vote tally. >> senator menendez, good to have you with us tonight. thank you so much. >> good to be here. >> remember the question at the bottom of the screen. share your thoughts with us on twitter and edshow and on facebook. we always want to know what you think. coming up, president obama was swept into office on the become of the american labor worker. leo gerard on how comprehensive immigration reform could be a big political machine for 2014 and beyond. stay with us. 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