Hillary Clinton to support citizenship path for immigrants

LAS VEGAS, May 5 (UPI) -- Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton intends to push an early distinction from her Republican counterparts on immigration issues, calling for a "full and equal path to citizenship" for some 11 million in the country illegally, her campaign said.

In her first visit to the swing state of Nevada since announcing her bid in the 2016 presidential race, Clinton plans to discuss her commitment to changes in immigration laws during a roundtable discussion Tuesday at a Las Vegas high school. She will talk with Rancho High School students who were brought to the United States illegally as children. The school is 70 percent Hispanic.

"She will say that the standard for a true solution is nothing less than a full and equal path to citizenship," said a Clinton aide, previewing her remarks. "She will say that we cannot settle for proposals that provide hardworking people with merely a 'second-class' status."

Political analysts say Clinton, seen as a frontrunner for the Democratic nomination, is looking for a way to make clear distinctions between her and Republican candidates by embracing a full path to citizenship.

Clinton's campaign said she will also support changes to immigration law that "treats everyone with dignity and compassion, upholds the rule of law, protects our border and national security, and brings hard-working people out of the shadows and into the formal economy so they can pay taxes and contribute to our nation's prosperity."