Bill which got 68-32 approval now passes to House where representatives remain last obstacle to landmark reform
A comprehensive attempt to fix the dysfunctional US immigration
system passed a significant milestone on Thursday when a bipartisan
majority in the Senate approved measures that would grant citizenship to
an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants.
After months of wrangling, 68senators voted for the final bill, including 13 Republicans, throwing down the gauntlet to the House of Representatives, which remains the last obstacle to landmark immigration reform.
In a moment of symbolism, vice president Joe Biden presided over the Senate and the House leader called for members to vote from their desks. Senator Marco Rubio, the Republican from Florida who has staked his personal reputation and his presidential ambitions on the successful outcome of immigration reform, stood, buttoned his jacket and declared "aye" when his turn came to vote.
Members of the "gang of eight", the bipartisan group of senators who hammered out the bill that was brought to the floor on Thursday, spoke with passsion. "Here, in America, generations of unfulfilled dreams will finally come to pass," Rubio said.
Senator Chuck Schumer, of New York, said voting against the bill would be a "direct rebuke" to theStatue of Liberty . "There are no more legitimate excuses to vote against this bill," he said.
The legislation seeks to provide a gradual path to citizenship for those who entered the country illegally while establishing tougher border controls to prevent future unauthorised entry.
Thirty-two senators voted against the bill, and the margin of victory was slightly lower than 70-plus votes some supporters had hoped for.
But the legislation received important last-minute backing from moderate Republicans such as Bob Corker and John Hoeven in exchange for an extra 20,000 border guards and is seen as having a meaningful, if far from guaranteed, chance of passing through the House in some form.
Senator Chuck Grassley captured the mood of many Republican opponents when he told reporters shortly before the vote that although he was voting no this time, he hoped to have a chance to vote yes on a toughened version of the bill when it returned from the House.
He said House Republicans had told him they would seek two key changes that would satisfy many critics in both chambers: a tougher test to establish if border security was working before citizenship was granted and tighter internal security checks on those entering with visas, including biometric entry and exit tests.
The first of these amendments has so far been resisted by Democrats who regard it either as an unrealistic delaying tactic or a possible veto for any future Congress or administration that decided it wanted to reverse the path to citizenship.
There are also a number of procedural obstacles remaining in the House. Speaker John Boehner has said he would only allow a vote on any legislation if a majority of Republicans were in favour – a much higher threshold than the simple bipartisan majority supporters had hoped for.
President Obama issued a statement after the vote. "I urge everyone who cares about this issue to keep a watchful eye. Now is the time when opponents will try their hardest to pull this bipartisan effort apart so they can stop commonsense reform from becoming a reality. We cannot let that happen."
Leading House Republican Paul Ryan has also indicated that he would favour an approach begun by the House judiciary committee which is seeking to separating border control and citizenship into distinct bills that would be considered in turn.
Ryan, in common with many Republicans with presidential ambitions, repeated however that he remained in favour of a path to citizenship in principle. Republican National Committee (RNC) analysis of voting patterns after the last election concluded that immigration reform was a vital step in persuading existing Hispanic citizens to vote Republican in future, a key factor in recapturing the White House.
Senator Grassley said: "I share the concern of the RNC but it isn't just immigration. It's a gateway to further dialogue but that's going to include more of what the general public is interested in like the economy and jobs.
"I have been in touch with some in the House and they are going to be much more tough. If you reward illegality you get more of it and I don't want to make that mistake again."
Although past amnesties have not stemmed the tide of illegal immigration, recent attempts at comprehensive immigration reform to tackle the issue have mainly fallen flat, making Thursday's Senate vote a rare breakthrough.
A group of so-called dreamers – children of undocumented migrants who nonetheless grew up in the US – cheered from the gallery after the vote, drawing censure from vice president Joe Biden, who was sitting as chair for the historic session.
Earlier Bob Menendez, one of the bipartisan gang of eight senators, that began pushing immigration reform in April, compared its passage to the civil rights act. "We are on the verge of historic change," he said. "I say to my friends in the other body do the right thing for America. Find common ground and lean away from the extremes."
After months of wrangling, 68
In a moment of symbolism, vice president Joe Biden presided over the Senate and the House leader called for members to vote from their desks. Senator Marco Rubio, the Republican from Florida who has staked his personal reputation and his presidential ambitions on the successful outcome of immigration reform, stood, buttoned his jacket and declared "aye" when his turn came to vote.
Members of the "gang of eight", the bipartisan group of senators who hammered out the bill that was brought to the floor on Thursday, spoke with passsion. "Here, in America, generations of unfulfilled dreams will finally come to pass," Rubio said.
Senator Chuck Schumer, of New York, said voting against the bill would be a "direct rebuke" to the
The legislation seeks to provide a gradual path to citizenship for those who entered the country illegally while establishing tougher border controls to prevent future unauthorised entry.
Thirty-two senators voted against the bill, and the margin of victory was slightly lower than 70-plus votes some supporters had hoped for.
But the legislation received important last-minute backing from moderate Republicans such as Bob Corker and John Hoeven in exchange for an extra 20,000 border guards and is seen as having a meaningful, if far from guaranteed, chance of passing through the House in some form.
Senator Chuck Grassley captured the mood of many Republican opponents when he told reporters shortly before the vote that although he was voting no this time, he hoped to have a chance to vote yes on a toughened version of the bill when it returned from the House.
He said House Republicans had told him they would seek two key changes that would satisfy many critics in both chambers: a tougher test to establish if border security was working before citizenship was granted and tighter internal security checks on those entering with visas, including biometric entry and exit tests.
The first of these amendments has so far been resisted by Democrats who regard it either as an unrealistic delaying tactic or a possible veto for any future Congress or administration that decided it wanted to reverse the path to citizenship.
There are also a number of procedural obstacles remaining in the House. Speaker John Boehner has said he would only allow a vote on any legislation if a majority of Republicans were in favour – a much higher threshold than the simple bipartisan majority supporters had hoped for.
President Obama issued a statement after the vote. "I urge everyone who cares about this issue to keep a watchful eye. Now is the time when opponents will try their hardest to pull this bipartisan effort apart so they can stop commonsense reform from becoming a reality. We cannot let that happen."
Leading House Republican Paul Ryan has also indicated that he would favour an approach begun by the House judiciary committee which is seeking to separating border control and citizenship into distinct bills that would be considered in turn.
Ryan, in common with many Republicans with presidential ambitions, repeated however that he remained in favour of a path to citizenship in principle. Republican National Committee (RNC) analysis of voting patterns after the last election concluded that immigration reform was a vital step in persuading existing Hispanic citizens to vote Republican in future, a key factor in recapturing the White House.
Senator Grassley said: "I share the concern of the RNC but it isn't just immigration. It's a gateway to further dialogue but that's going to include more of what the general public is interested in like the economy and jobs.
"I have been in touch with some in the House and they are going to be much more tough. If you reward illegality you get more of it and I don't want to make that mistake again."
Although past amnesties have not stemmed the tide of illegal immigration, recent attempts at comprehensive immigration reform to tackle the issue have mainly fallen flat, making Thursday's Senate vote a rare breakthrough.
A group of so-called dreamers – children of undocumented migrants who nonetheless grew up in the US – cheered from the gallery after the vote, drawing censure from vice president Joe Biden, who was sitting as chair for the historic session.
Earlier Bob Menendez, one of the bipartisan gang of eight senators, that began pushing immigration reform in April, compared its passage to the civil rights act. "We are on the verge of historic change," he said. "I say to my friends in the other body do the right thing for America. Find common ground and lean away from the extremes."
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