Boston Terror Delays Senate's Immigration Hearing, but Not Bill

The bipartisan Senate “Gang of Eight” pushing immigration reform is moving ahead with its plan to roll out an approximately 1,500-page bill this week despite the bombings that rocked the Boston marathon on Monday.

The bill reportedly grants amnesty to the at least 11 million illegal immigrants in America. “Millions of immigrants living illegally in the United States could earn a chance at citizenship under a sweeping Senate proposal to be released Tuesday that would represent the most ambitious overhaul of the nation’s immigration system in three decades,” the Washington Post wrote in a breaking news alert late Monday night. “The highly anticipated proposal from an eight-member bipartisan group also aims to stem the flow of undocumented immigrants into the country by creating tens of thousands of new visas for foreign workers in low-skilled jobs, according to a 17-page summary of the bill obtained by The Washington Post.”

In a similar report, Politico indicated the group may hold off the press conference announcing the release because of the terror attack in Boston but will still likely file the bill on Tuesday. “The bill they plan to file as early as Tuesday – a public roll-out was delayed because of the deadly blasts at the Boston Marathon – is certain to spark an emotional debate that will dominate Washington for the remainder of the year,” Politico wrote in a breaking news alert shortly after midnight Tuesday morning.

On Twitter, however, two of the Gang of Eight members – Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and John McCain (R-AZ) indicated the press conference for the bill could end up being held for about a day because of the Boston terror attacks. “Out of respect for the victims of the terrible tragedy in #Boston, we won’t be holding the press conf on #immigration reform tomorrow,” McCain wrote via Twitter.

“Thoughts & prayers are with everyone in Boston,” Schumer added. “Our bipartisan work on immigration will wait at least a day out of respect for the victims.”