Sen. Jeff Sessions fears border security won't improve

WASHINGTON, April 14 (UPI) -- A key conservative U.S. senator Sunday voiced skepticism about plans for increased border security in a legislative compromise proposal on immigration reform.

Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., said on ABC's "This Week" he is concerned pledges to tighten security along the Mexican border would not be kept, opening the door to a new surge of undocumented immigrants.

"It looks like ... it will give amnesty now, legalize everyone that's here effectively today and then there's a promise of enforcement in the future," he said. "Even if you pass laws today that appear to be effective, it doesn't mean they're going to be enforced.

"And we have in this administration, a failure to enforce," Sessions said. "So that's a big deal right now."

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., did not directly address Sessions' suspicions, but he reiterated the selling point of the immigration proposal being finalized on Capitol Hill offered tough standards for obtaining citizenship that made it nothing like a blanket amnesty plan.

"The American people have told us to do two things," said Schumer. "One, prevent future flows of illegal immigration and then, come up with a common sense solution for legal immigration. And that's what our bill does."

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said Sunday the immigration reform plan being developed in Congress will require undocumented immigrants to earn U.S. citizenship.