Immigration reform is now being debated and shaped by the House of Representatives, where the Republican majority plans to make big changes to the bill passed by the Senate.

Following the strong show of support that the Senate gave to immigration reform as they passed a comprehensive bill at the end of June, the House last week started to craft their own version, which is anticipated to be much different.

The Senate bill passed 68-32 with yea votes from all 54 Democrats joined by 14 Republicans. In spite of this fact, House Republican leaders signaled that they will not be swayed to change their minds on key issues, especially the path to citizenship.

It is estimated that the Senate bill would grant legal status and work permits to between 7 million and 11 million illegal immigrants. Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, indicated that this issue would be a deal-breaker to himself and many of his Republican colleagues.

A number of other issues in the Senate version will be hotly debated in the House, including how to effectively seal our border with Mexico. The Congressional Budget Office said the Senate-passed legislation would only cut illegal immigration by an estimated 25 percent.