These are two terms you're about to become familiar with if you closely follow the immigration debate. The House bill was introduced this morning by Congressman Gutierrez (D-IL) and Flake (R-AZ) and though I have not gotten the full text, I've gotten a summary and have a bit of an idea of what to expect. The bill resembles the Senate bill that passed last year in many respects. Two parts of the bill are specifically designed to appease the anti-amnesty folks (at least the reasonable ones).

The legalization aspects of the bill will not kick in until benchmarks are reached on the enforcement provisions (the "trigger"). This will address the criticism that we should not be offering benefits to undocumented immigrants until we get control of the border and immigration enforcement.

The other important appeasement provision is the "touchback" that will require legalization applicants to leave the US and then reenter the US. The idea is that the departure and reentry will be instantaneous, but somehow the immigrant will be "cleansed" by the process. Sort of like baptism.

More to follow when I see the text. Hey Hill insiders - email me a copy of the text and I'll get you my section-by-section summary before everyone else.