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The two candidates at the top of the Illinois Republican ticket this fall spoke at an event Tuesday designed to pressure the states GOP congressional delegation to pass sweeping immigration changes, but both refused to give their outright support for the legislation thats already passed the U.S. Senate.

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Jim Oberweis said he is against a provision in the measure that would give a pathway to citizenship for adult immigrants already in the country illegally, saying it amounts to amnesty. Meanwhile, GOP governor candidate Bruce Rauner would not say if he backed the proposal, saying he hadnt studied it and arguing that its up to Congress and President Barack Obama to negotiate the details.

The comments came at an event hosted by the Illinois Business Immigration Coalition, a group of businesses interests from across the state that wants immigration reform. The organization particularly has sought out the support of the Republican Party, which is attempting to rebrand itself by reaching out to women and minority voters.

Indeed, Oberweis has sought to soften his stance on the issue. In 2004, Oberweis was strongly attacked after running TV ads during his second U.S. Senate bid that showed him flying over Soldier Field in a helicopter, contending enough illegal aliens cross the border and steal jobs to fill Soldier Field every single week. That figure was fiercely disputed, and Oberweis has since called the spot a mistake.

On Tuesday, Oberweis acknowledged that he has been perceived as a hawk on the issue of illegal immigration, saying he regrets the harsh tone of my rhetoric ten years ago. But he argued that his principles in favor of strong border control remain, and argued that adults who enter the United States illegally should not be given a shortened path to citizenship.

Rather, Oberweis said illegal immigrants already in the country should be offered non-immigrant visas to allow them to stay in the country and should be required to apply for citizenship like anybody else. Oberweis said he would support a path to citizenship for children who were brought to the country illegally by their parents.

I think its important that Democrats be willing to compromise, said Oberweis, of Sugar Grove, who is challenging Democratic U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin in the Nov. 4 general election. I think Republicans certainly are willing to support the right kind of reforms.

The Democrat-controlled U.S. Senate approved the immigration package last year. Under the measure, immigrants would be able to transition to legal permanent resident status in 10 years after a number of security features are put in place including drones and 20,000 new Border Patrol officers. To qualify, immigrants must also pay various fines and fees, learn English and pass background checks.

While Rauner would not speak to specifics of the federal legislation, he said he supports comprehensive reform that should include pathways to citizenship. Rauner, who is challenging Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn, contended it must become easier to immigrate to the U.S. legally in order for people to come here legally and work hard and be part of the American dream.

A Quinn campaign spokeswoman contended that Rauner was pretending to support immigration reform, arguing that the Winnetka businessman has donated thousands of dollars to activists and politicians who are against immigration. Rauner said hes contributed money to many candidates, saying he doesnt think theres a politician existing anywhere who I agree with 100 percent.

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Oberweis, Rauner refuse to back Senate-approved immigration reform measure

The need for immigration reform has united individuals from various sectors, including business, education and religion. But one group our nations farmers feels particularly strongly about this issue, and with good reason.

David Goldman, File, Associated Press

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The need for immigration reform has united individuals from various sectors, including business, education and religion. But one group our nations farmers feels particularly strongly about this issue, and with good reason. On our farm, we use the H2A program exclusively because we dont have a choice if we want to stay in agriculture. The current H2A immigration policies make staffing my familys farm expensive and overly bureaucratic, but manageable. It is now time for the House to formulate and pass an immigration reform bill that will make these expensive, bureaucratic policies more palatable and easier to use.

The Partnership for a New American Economy has been studying the impact of our current immigration policies on the national economy. They have found that American farmers are losing about $300 million annually due to labor shortages. Surveys of farmers further demonstrate this problem in some areas 80 percent of farmers report worker shortages.

Farmers are also having trouble filling their farm positions because the physically demanding, seasonal nature of farm work does not appeal to American workers. The agriculture industry needs immigrant workers to fill the labor gap. Unfortunately, our current immigration policies make it very difficult to make us efficient in our farming operations. The current agriculture worker visas are costly and carry extensive requirements for the applicants. For my familys farm, we havent been caught short on our crops because of our overly cautious preparation and our plans that expect visa delays, but it has been costly and inefficient and it shouldnt be this way.

Supporting our farmers workforce demands means implementing long-term changes to the agriculture visa program as well as short-term fixes. A key component of reform will be finding a solution for currently undocumented workers to continue working in the fields. Our nations farmers want to have a legal, consistent, and reliable workforce available to them. The benefits of a growing agricultural workforce extend beyond the farm because the industry is responsible for creating jobs in many other sectors as well. The Agriculture Workforce Coalition has found that every farm job creates between two and three additional jobs in related fields such as packaging, transportation, sales and marketing.

There are many reasons for Congress to take action on immigration reform, and there are no advantages to delay. The U.S. economy depends on agriculture, and agriculture depends on labor. The House must prioritize this issue and pass substantive legislation this year.

Curtis Rowley is one of the six Rowley brothers that are the owners of Cherry Hill Farms of Santaquin, Utah. Cherry Hill Farms has been on the H2A program for nine years, and the farm is a third-generation business.

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My view: Utah's agriculture industry needs immigration reform

Immigration Reform 2- THE ARENA

By: TheArena2013

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Immigration Reform 2- THE ARENA - Video

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Washington (CNN) -- Conventional political wisdom suggests that immigration reform in a midterm election year has a snowball's chance in July of getting any traction.

But maybe that wisdom isn't so conventional.

Some Republicans say they are warily preparing for the possibility that President Barack Obama could use executive action this summer to bypass congressional gridlock and act on immigration reform.

Those changes could include making noncriminals and minor offenders the lowest deportation priorities, a recommendation the Congressional Hispanic Caucus stressed in its meeting earlier this month with Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson.

Republicans have good reason to worry, said Stephen Yale-Loehr, a professor at Cornell University Law School.

"If I had to predict, I think the president will make some administrative fine tuning of his immigration policies in the hopes of pacifying the immigration activists," said Yale-Loehr.

Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Florida, worries that day will come in August when lawmakers have headed home to their districts to campaign.

Diaz-Balart and his staff are cranking up the pace on crafting a measure that would help some undocumented immigrants gain their citizenship through currently existing channels, said Cesar Gonzalez, the congressman's chief of staff. He declined to say which existing channels the bill would use.

He added that the measure would also strengthen border security and try to address the backlog of green card applications for permanent status.

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Immigration reform not dead after all?

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Washington (CNN) -- Immigration champion Rep. Luis Gutierrez feels confident that President Barack Obama will use his executive powers to push through reform. House Speaker John Boehner feels confident that doing so will tank what little support the President has among Republicans on immigration reform.

They're both right, immigration law experts say.

After pushback from immigration activists and some members of his party, the President has directed his administration to reexamine its deportation policy.

The administration could shift noncriminals and minor offenders to the lowest deportation priorities.

"I think the President has a difficult decision to make here," said Stephen Yale-Loehr, a professor at Cornell University Law School. "The courts have upheld wide discretion on immigration matters. He could make noncriminals the lowest deportation priorities. ... But there is a penalty he could pay through using executive action rather than waiting for Congress to act on immigration reform."

That political price, Boehner told Fox News last week, is "that will make it almost impossible to ever do immigration reform, because he will spoil the well to the point where no one will trust him by giving him a new law that he will implement the way the Congress intended."

"The American people want us to deal with immigration reform," Boehner said on Fox News' "Kelly File" during the same interview. "But every time the President ignores the law, like the 38 times he has on Obamacare, our members look up and go, 'Wait a minute: You can't have immigration reform without strong border security and internal enforcement. How can we trust the President to actually obey the law and enforce the law that we would write?'"

Legislation stuck in the House

Last year, the Senate passed a comprehensive immigration reform package -- which includes a citizenship path for an estimated 8 million of the more than 11 million undocumented immigrants in the country, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

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Should Obama use the power of his pen?