WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A bipartisan plan brokered in the House of Representatives will be tougher on illegal immigrants living in the United States than a Senate counterpart, congressional aides said on Friday.

But it fails to address the difficult issue of how many low-skilled foreign workers should be allowed into the country.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A bipartisan group of lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives said on Thursday they had reached a tentative deal to revamp the immigration system, after disputes over a temporary worker program and healthcare benefits threatened to derail their efforts.

“We have essentially come to an agreement on all the major points,” Democratic Representative John Yarmuth of Kentucky told reporters after a two-hour meeting with six other Democratic and Republican lawmakers.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives trying to write an immigration bill met on Thursday in a last-ditch attempt to resolve their differences over a temporary worker program and healthcare benefits for illegal immigrants.

The group of eight Democratic and Republican lawmakers has been attempting to craft a bill to overhaul the immigration system and deal with the millions of immigrants living illegally in the United States.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner on Thursday tried to encourage negotiations on immigration legislation amid signs that a bipartisan House group trying to write a bill was near collapse.

“I am concerned that the bipartisan group has been unable to wrap up their work,” Boehner told reporters, adding, “I know there are some very difficult issues that have come up.”

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A government watchdog sharply criticized the U.S. Internal Revenue Service on Tuesday for singling out conservative groups for extra scrutiny and warned that the agency’s actions gave the appearance that it was not politically impartial.

Citing poor management and substantial delays in processing of applications from groups for tax-exempt status, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) said the IRS used “inappropriate criteria” for screening applications.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A landmark bill backed by U.S. President Barack Obama to overhaul the nation’s immigration system survived unscathed on Thursday during the first day of consideration by a divided Senate Judiciary Committee.

On bipartisan votes, the panel rejected conservatives’ attempts to thwart implementation of a centerpiece of the bill – a pathway to U.S. citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A landmark bill backed by U.S. President Barack Obama to overhaul the nation’s immigration system survived unscathed on Thursday during the first day of consideration by a divided Senate Judiciary Committee.

On bipartisan votes, the panel rejected conservatives’ attempts to thwart implementation of a centerpiece of the bill – a pathway to U.S. citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants.

WASHINGTON, May 9 (Reuters) – In the first legislative test
for the U.S. Senate’s bipartisan immigration bill, the Judiciary
Committee rejected a Republican attempt to significantly delay
the legalization process for 11 million undocumented immigrants,
a central focus of the bill.

Only the two Republican co-authors of the bill, Senators
Jeff Flake of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina,
voted with the panel’s Democrats to defeat the Republican plan
on a 12-6 vote.

WASHINGTON, May 9 (Reuters) – A U.S. Senate committee on
Thursday launched a weeks-long effort to pass a comprehensive
immigration bill with a warning from the panel’s top Republican
that he would make the process as long and “arduous” as
possible.

“I plan to ask many questions throughout this process,” Iowa
Senator Charles Grassley warned the Democratic-controlled Senate
Judiciary Committee. “I want to know how the bill doesn’t repeat
the mistakes of the past.” Grassley, in a statement, promised an
“arduous” and “robust” debate.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Nearly two months ago, Republican Party leaders urged their rank-and-file to embrace comprehensive immigration legislation as part of a broad effort to appeal to Hispanics and other minorities who rebuked Republican candidates in the 2012 elections.

Now, with the start of what is looking to be a historic debate in the U.S. Senate on revamping the country’s immigration policy, some are saying that it appears as if not all Republicans got the message.