Immigration Reform 2013: Senate Rejects Grassley Border Security Amendment

An amendment proposed by Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) to the immigration reform bill which would have required the U.S.-Mexico border to be deemed secured for six months before undocumented immigrants could be granted legal status was rejected by the Senate today by a 57-43 vote. All eight members of the "Gang of Eight", the bipartisan group assembled to write the reform, voted "yes" on tabling the amendment, meaning it will no longer be debated in the Senate. Grassley had previously submitted an essentially identical proposal to the Senate Judicial Committee when it was still marking up the bill. It was voted down then, too, by 12-6 by the committee.

Joining 50 Democrats in voting to table the amendment were five Republicans, one of whom isn't a member of the "Gang of Eight": Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who has made signs that she may vote "yes" on the immigration reform as it currently stands. Two Democrats went against their caucus: Mark Pryor of Arkansas and Joe Manchin of West Virginia. Politico reported that Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on Thursday that the measure will "undo the entire theme and structure" of the present legislation.

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Senator Grassley said during debate on Wednesday that "We need to prove to the American people that we can do our job. People support reform, but support reform if we have border security first." He added that his plan would ensure that "true" border security was in place. The present legislation establishes goals for border monitoring and apprehension of border-crossers and requires the Department of Homeland Security to submit a plan for how it will go about achieving those goals before any of the nation's estimated 11 million are offered provisional legal status.

Republican efforts to step up spending on border patrol and otherwise make legal status dependent on locking down the border may have to wait until the bill reaches the House of Representatives, where they have a majority. Senate Majority leader Harry Reid (D-Nev) needs only to muster 50 votes to table amendments which might prove unpalatable to Democrats and fracture the unity of the bipartisan "Gang of Eight" that has sought to stick together to ward off "poison pill" proposals.

"This so-called open and fair process is a farce," Grassley said just before the roll call. "This is a very provocative act."

Reid has also said that any Republican proposal would have to get 60 votes in order to avoid a filibuster, which has rankled Republicans.