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Senate votes to begin historic immigration reform debate

By Carrie Dann, Political Reporter, NBC News

In an initial victory for proponents of comprehensive immigration reform, the Senate on Tuesday easily passed a procedural vote to begin debate on the broad bipartisan measure, with just 15 senators -- all Republicans -- objecting.

The preliminary 82-15 vote -- which required 60 votes for passage -- offers an initial show of strength for supporters of the legislation, although some Republicans who voted for the initial procedural measure say they will not support the final product unless amendments are added to strengthen the legislation’s requirements to secure the nation’s southern border.

A short while later, a vote on the motion to proceed -- which needed just a simple majority -- passed by a similar 84-15 margin.


The votes came hours after President Barack Obama, flanked by a broad array of supporters in remarks at the White House, urged Congress to act on the legislation and warned opponents that there is “no good reason to play procedural games or engage in obstruction.”

“If you’re serious about actually fixing the system, then this is the vehicle to do it,” Obama said.

A final vote on the legislation is not expected until before the chamber’s July 4 recess. Obama said Tuesday that he wants the bill to his desk by the end of the summer.

Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, an outspoken opponent of the bill, acknowledged after the vote that the bill likely has sufficient support in the upper chamber but warned that -- without changes -- it won’t survive to a White House signing ceremony.

“This bill is going to pass the Senate, but as written, this bill will not pass the House,” Cruz said.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Gang of Eight member and key GOP backer of the legislation, told reporters earlier Tuesday he believes the bill will pass out of the Senate but that it will need substantial Republican momentum to beat back opponents in the GOP-led House.

“If we get just a handful of Republicans I think it probably dies in the House, so I think it’s imperative we get close to half our conference” for a final vote, he said.

The Senate will now spend the remainder of the month debating and amending the bill, with much of the legislative oxygen being devoted to amendments that Republicans say are designed to woo more support from GOP members.

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ajax18 wrote:Just put it all on the tab. It looks like there will be no limit to the national debt and tax increases on working Americans that will follow this decision. What a disaster!

Critics of a bipartisan Senate bill to overhaul the nation’s immigration system falsely claim that it will cost an additional $6.3 trillion, citing a study by a conservative group that opposes the bill. However, the report is not an analysis of the bill, and it says the cost of keeping the status quo “could run into the trillions” – so the net cost would be substantially lower than $6.3 trillion.

and it says the cost of keeping the status quo “could run into the trillions” – so the net cost would be substantially lower than $6.3 trillion.

Center holds as Senate kills GOP border security amendment to immigration bill

By Carrie Dann, Political Reporter, NBC News

Beating back the first attempt to substantially change the pending immigration bill’s border security measures, the Senate on Thursday voted down a Republican effort to require strict security goals are met for six months before undocumented immigrants can apply for legal status.

The bill’s bipartisan drafters – the so-called “Gang of Eight” – held together to vote against the amendment by Sen. Chuck Grassley, with Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska joining the four GOP senators in the group.

The final vote to kill the measure was 57-43.

Two Democrats, Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Sen. Mark Pryor of Arkansas, voted with 41 Republicans in support of the Grassley amendment.

As written, Grassley’s language would have required that the Department of Homeland Security maintain effective control of the U.S.-Mexico border for six months before people in the country illegally are eligible for probationary legal status. Lawmakers who support the Gang of Eight bill said that requirement was far too harsh and would keep undocumented immigrants “in the shadows” unnecessarily.

In a radio interview, Sen. Marco Rubio - a Republican Gang of Eight drafter who has said he wants to beef up border security measures in the bill - said he opposed the Grassley amendment because it would delay the registration process for undocumented immigrants and because it failed to detail the border plan sufficiently.

"We cannot wait another four years of de facto amnesty," he said. "We cannot wait another four years with 11 million people living in this country illegally without knowing who they are or why they’re here

The vote was the last of the week on the immigration effort, as leaders wrangle about the procedure for addressing amendments that have been proposed to the Gang of Eight legislation.

Democrats from the Gang of Eight, along with Senate Judiciary Committee Chariman Patrick Leahy, met with the president at the White House later Thursday to discuss the immigration effort.

At that meeting, "they discussed floor strategy for the next two weeks in order to produce the strongest bill possible with the most votes possible," said a Senate Democratic aide.

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Brackite wrote:CBO: Immigration bill only stops 25 percent of illegal immigration

"The Senate immigration bill will be a major boost to the federal budget but does relatively little to clamp down on illegal immigration — cutting the future flow by only about 25 percent — according to the Congressional Budget Office analysis of the bill, released Tuesday afternoon."

subgenius wrote:

Brackite wrote:CBO: Immigration bill only stops 25 percent of illegal immigration

"The Senate immigration bill will be a major boost to the federal budget but does relatively little to clamp down on illegal immigration — cutting the future flow by only about 25 percent — according to the Congressional Budget Office analysis of the bill, released Tuesday afternoon."

So, 100% or its not worth it?

Washington (CNN) -- A bipartisan group of U.S. senators is proposing tougher border security measures -- including doubling the current 21,000-agent border patrol -- as part of a deal to get more Republican support for an immigration reform bill.

Sources revealed to CNN some of the details of negotiated changes to the sweeping bill being debated in the Senate. Along with the increased border patrol agents, it would call for 700 miles of fencing along the frontier with Mexico.

However, a Senate aide familiar with the talks cautioned there could be a last-minute change before the agreement is announced, which was expected Thursday afternoon.

A key Republican, conservative Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, told Fox News the planned amendment would provide "a dramatic improvement in border security," which he hoped would enhance the bill's chances of becoming law.