On September 29, 2010, US Senators Robert Menendez and Patrick Leahy introduced the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2010, which would have greatly changed US immigration law. The bill incorporated previously proposed legislation, including the AgJOBS Act, which would have allowed some undocumented workers to work on US farms, the Uniting American Families Act, which would have allowed same-sex partners of US citizens to reside in the US, and the DREAM Act, which would have provided a path to permanent resident status for some high school graduates who enter the military or enroll in a college degree program. That same day, Senator Orrin Hatch proposed an immigration bill that would have increased cooperation between federal and local enforcement officials, strengthened enforcement of current immigration laws and limited federal benefits to illegal immigrants.



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