Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), part of a bipartisan group of senators working to draft immigration reform legislation, struck down the idea that the immigration reform framework being worked out in the Senate would lead to an initial rush of illegal immigration, during an interview on Fox News Monday.
Under the Senate plan, undocumented immigrants would be allowed to remain the United States on probationary status until after a series of border security measures go into effect, at which point they could begin the process of becoming citizens.
McCain shot down the fear, as put to him on Fox News, that the plan would incentivize immigrants to rush across the border before the security measures go into effect in order to be protected from deportation and put immediately on a path to citizenship. McCain suggested they could easily set some date after which point undocumented immigrants would not be subject to the protections of any new reform law.
