Senate likely to vote on immigration reform this week
By Dileep Thekkethil
The US Senate passed a key amendment that adds border security requirements to the comprehensive immigration reform bill after a vote on Monday. Sixty-seven senators voted in favor of the amendment, including 15 Republicans, while 27 voted against it. A number of senators couldn’t make it for the vote due to travels delays caused by bad weather. With this vote, the chamber is now expected to be pass the bill.
The amendment, pushed by Republican Sens. Bob Corker of Tennessee and John Hoeven of North Dakota, mandates that five additional steps on border security be taken before the status change of undocumented immigrants to legal permanent residents.
The new amendment will require hiring more than 20,000 additional border security agents and building nearly 700 miles of fence along the U.S.-Mexico border. All businesses now will have to put their employees under the e-verification system to cross check whether they are legally permitted to work in the United States. The federal government is also mandated to spend more money for improving the technology in sea ports and airports for implementing the entry-exit system if the new immigration bill is passed becomes law.
Although the Republicans who voted for the amendment are not fully in favor of the new immigration reform bill proposed by the Gang of Eight, their support is a big boost for the bill. The Republicans who voted in favor of the amendment, besides Corker and Hoeven, include Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), Kelly Ayotte (N.H.), Jeff Chiesa (N.J.), Susan Collins (Maine), Jeff Flake (Ariz.), Lindsey Graham (S.C.), Orrin Hatch (Utah), Dean Heller (Nev.), Mark Kirk (Ill.), John McCain (Ariz.), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Marco Rubio (Fla.) and Roger Wicker (Miss.).
The final vote is likely to take place this week, before the July 4th recess. The GOP support is vital for the bill, as it heads to the U.S. House of Representatives, where it faces stronger opposition.