Yet like all immigration policy, the measure is drawing scrutiny from a range of groups, some who question whether it goes too far in favoring one nationality and others who say Brown’s version would not go far enough to help Irish immigrants who have overstayed their visas.
The measure was originally authored by Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, as part of a larger immigration bill that has broad support among Senate Democrats.
Brown has been negotiating in hope that Republican leaders will sign on, allowing for a rare bipartisan bill to move through a divided Congress. Senator Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican who has held up Schumer’s bill because of unrelated immigration issues, is hoping to broker a compromise with Brown, Grassley’s office said.
The full bill sponsored by Schumer includes provisions that are expected to help more residents from other countries, especially highly skilled workers from China and India, gain residency in the United States.
Brown has written two letters to Grassley advocating that he move the bill forward.
“Brown is the key player right now,’’ said Bruce A. Morrison, a former Democratic congressman from Connecticut who has been lobbying in favor of the bill on behalf of the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform.
Brown has generally talked tough about illegal immigration, speaking out at his campaign kickoff last month against “the magnets we create, like in-state tuition breaks that bring more people here in violation of the law.’’
He has also opposed the Dream Act, despite a lobbying campaign for the bill. The Dream Act would grant permanent residency to some illegal immigrants, brought to the country by their parents, who graduate from college or join the military.
But Brown said he favors changes that do not provide amnesty for those who come to the country illegally.
“There’s a big difference between legal and illegal immigration,’’ he said in a phone interview. “You have a lot of folks trying to come here, and they’re trying to do so illegally. This will basically fix that inequity.’’
