The White House is working on early drafts of a comprehensive bill that would offer 11 million illegal immigrants a pathway to citizenship along the lines of the principles that the president laid out in Las Vegas several weeks ago, administration officials said.
President Obama revealed last month that his administration had already drafted immigration legislation. But he said he preferred to let a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers work out their own bill that could also tighten border security and provide employers with a way to verify the citizenship status of workers.
White House aides said that Mr. Obama remained pleased with the progress being made on Capitol Hill toward a complete overhaul of the nation’s immigration system. But they said he would be prepared to submit legislation if the effort among lawmakers stalls.
On Saturday, USA Today reported that it had obtained portions of the president’s draft legislation. The newspaper said the bill would allow illegal immigrants to become permanent residents within eight years and in the meantime could apply for a “Lawful Prospective Immigrant” visa. Mr. Stevens and other White House officials declined to comment on specific details of the report.
Those details are similar to the statement of principles that the White House provided to reporters after Mr. Obama’s Las Vegas speech. A fact sheet said the president wanted to strengthen border security, provide “earned citizenship,” streamline legal immigration and crack down on employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants.