Washington, D.C. — Today the Senate took an important step toward passing immigration reform by voting for cloture on Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT)’s border security amendment 1183, which includes an agreement negotiated by Sens. Bob Corker (R-TN) and John Hoeven (R-ND) that addresses concerns raised by Republicans. Angela Maria Kelley, Vice President for Immigration Policy at the Center for American Progress, released the following statement:
In a robust and bipartisan 67-27 vote, the Senate took a long leap toward finishing debate on a sweeping reform of our nation’s immigration law. The number of Democrats and Republicans voting “aye” in support of an amendment that preserves the road map to citizenship for most of the 11 million unauthorized immigrants should impress even the most cynical skeptics. The vote leaves no doubt that we’re not witnessing business as usual in Washington when it comes to immigration. Nevertheless, this amendment is a compromise and contains troubling excesses in border patrol agents and fencing as well as bars to social programs. As the Congressional Budget Office illustrated just last week, immigration reform is a bonus for America’s economy and taxpayers by reducing the deficit by $197 billion in the first decade and $700 billion in the second decade. The bill, while not perfect, gives more than it takes and should enjoy an equally strong bipartisan final vote by the week’s end.
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