The Congressional Budget Office says provisions called for by Senate bill's last amendment would help cut down on illegal entries as well as visa overstays, cutting the number of undocumented entering the country from 33 to 50 percent.

"The real solution is a healthy Mexican economy and a Mexico which is free of cartel violence," wrote Vela in a Twitlonger post explaining his decision. "The US-Mexico border should not remind us of places like East Berlin, West Berlin, North Korea and South Korea."

Professional wrestler Blue Demon Jr.'s battles with the tag-team "Border Patrol" have precedent in his 2012 matches against a wrestler who claimed to be the son of conservative Arizona governor Jan Brewer.

Influential conservative groups have begun ad campaigns asking voters to "stand with Rubio" even as Tea Partiers and conservative commentators rail against him for his support of a path to citizenship for the undocumented. Glenn Beck has called him "a piece of garbage".

"Piecemeal is no deal. Piecemeal is a deal-breaker," says Rep. Al Green (D-Texas). But privately, House Democrats may see working with GOP members as the only way to get the comprehensive Senate bill considered in the House farther down the line.

Study finds Latinos and white population are the same in California.

Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin posted a photo on Friday to her Facebook page attacking GOP members who supported the immigration reform bill which just passed in the Senate. Her opposition to the bill's proposed path of citizenship stands in contrast to her position in 2008, when she told Univision anchor Jorge Ramos that she supported the idea, although she did not favor "total amnesty".

The Latin Times surveyed three opponents of the "border surge" -- an amendment to the immigration bill calling for increased militarization of the US-Mexico border -- on why they oppose it and what border security ought to mean.

Mexican politicians, intellectuals and media figures have expressed their opposition to the "border surge" and its call for increased militarization of the US-Mexico border. In El Pais, four prominent intellectuals agreed that it constituted an "affront" to Mexico.

The comprehensive immigration reform bill passed the Senate with 68 votes on Thursday afternoon, but House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) reiterated his earlier refusal to introduce any legislation on the House floor unless the majority of Republicans supported it.

Californian Juan Rivera, an undocumented immigrant who married US citizen Eric Manríquez in 2008, told the Latin Times that he and Eric had been “jumping up and down” at the news. “Yesterday was the best day of my life,” he said.

Mai Nhu Nguyen, 47, allegedly accepted 200 egg rolls from citizenship applicants in addition to thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for immigration-status favors as a citizenship and immigration services officer in Santa Ana, California.

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), a longtime advocate for the rights of same-sex marriages, had earlier tried to introduce an amendment to the immigration reform bill extending green card rights to foreign-born spouses. The Supreme Court's ruling on DOMA effectively does what Leahy had sought to codify in his amendment.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said House Speaker John Boehner had been influenced by conservative "crazies" in reiterating that he would not introduce the Senate's comprehensive immigration reform bill for consideration in the House.

Mexico's foreign relations secretary criticized the $30 billion "border surge" called for by the last amendment to the immigration reform bill and suggested the United States modernize bridge infrastructure along the border instead. The American Society of Civil Engineers gave the United States' bridges a C+ rating for 2013.

The US Senate voted 67-27 to end debate on the "border surge" amendment. The bill will come to a final vote in the Senate this week.

Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who opposes the reform bill, said it would be "dead on arrival" when it got to the House. Why?

The Senate will vote today to proceed to debate on the Corker-Hoeven amendment, which provides for an extra 700 miles of fencing along the border, over 20,000 more Border Patrol agents, and $3.2 billion in funding for surveillance and detection technology.

The "border surge" amendment which will increase surveillance and create a "virtual human fence" of law enforcement along the US-Mexico border may also lead to a surge in migrant deaths, experts say.

An amendment to the immigration reform bill worked out by a bipartisan group of Senators will allocate more funds to VADER, a drone-mounted sensor initially developed for use in the Afghanistan war.

A small group of Republican and Democratic senators have drawn up an amendment to the immigration reform bill which could double spending for border security, including more Border Patrol agents and more surveillance and apprehension technologies.

ACLU launches app in response to controversial SB 1070 bill that allows Arizona residents to report abuses under the law.

The new ad from FWD.us, Zuckerberg's pro-immigration reform PAC, contains a version of "The New Colossus" which alters the meaning of Emma Lazarus' 1883 poem to call for more high-skilled workers from outside of the US. "The New Colossus" appears on a plaque on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty.

The CBO said the bill would reduce the federal deficit through tax contributions of some 8 million immigrants who would gain legal status.

The two defeated amendments would have forced the government to build at least 700 miles of double-layered fence on the border and establish a biometric tracking system at all land, sea and air ports of entry.

Kobach told FOX after protestors showed up at his house to voice their support for the current immigration reform legislation's path to citizenship, "It's important we recognize there's a reason we have the Second Amendment. There are situations like this where you have a mob and you do need to be able to protect yourself."

A new CNN/ORC International poll showed that most American voters thought border security should be the "main focus" of immigration policy, but another poll released last week which asked a similar question appeared to indicate that Latino voters felt differently.

The Associated Press spoke to eight Republican members of the House of Representatives, who indicated that local anti-immigration reform pressures in their staunchly conservative districts influenced their stance on the current bill. Many of the GOP's most powerful members believe if their party blocks an immigration reform from passing, it would spell doom for its 2016 presidential chances.

14 stores were raided and nine owners and managers were arrested in one of the largest operations against illegal employment of undocumented immigrants in history, according to officials.

The Immigration Policy Center, a non-partisan think tank for immigration research, found that the perceived competition between the two groups in American cities was "rooted in politics and perception -- not economics".