Broad immigration bill cruising to Senate passage

Saxby Chambliss (R) - not voting

AUSTIN

John Cornyn (R) - N

Ted Cruz (R) - N

OHIO

Sherrod Brown (D)- not voting

Rob Portman (R) - N

WEST PALM BEACH

Bill Nelson (D) - Y

Marco Rubio (R) - Y

Far-reaching immigration legislation cruised toward passage in the Senate, as House Republicans pushed ahead Wednesday on a different approach that cracks down on millions living in the United States illegally rather than offering them a chance at citizenship.

Presidential politics took a more prominent role in a long-running national debate as Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., tried to reassure conservatives that many of the criticisms of the bill, which he helped write, are “just not true.”

The potential 2016 White House contender said in remarks on the Senate floor it has been difficult for him “to hear the worry and the anxiety and the growing anger in the voices of so many people who helped me get elected to the Senate and who I agree with on virtually every other issue.”

The political impact of the issue aside, there was no doubt that the Senate bill was on track for passage today or Friday.

Supporters posted 67 votes or more on each of three procedural tests Wednesday, far more than the 60 needed to prevail. More than a dozen Republicans sided with Democrats on each, assuring the bipartisan support that the bill’s backers hope will change minds in the House.

At its core, the legislation includes numerous steps to prevent future illegal immigration, while at the same time it offers a chance at citizenship for millions living in the country illegally.

It provides for 20,000 new Border Patrol agents, requires the completion of 700 miles of fencing and requires an array of high-tech devices be deployed to secure the border with Mexico.

Businesses would be required to check on the legal status of prospective employees. The government would be ordered to install a high-tech system to check on the comings and goings of foreigners at selected international airport in the United States.

Many of the bill’s supporters also cheered a ruling from the Supreme Court that said married gay couples are entitled to the same federal benefits as heterosexual couples. The decision would allow gay married citizens or permanent residents to sponsor their foreign-born spouses for U.S. residency.

Across the Capitol, an attempt at a bipartisan deal faltered, and majority Republicans began moving ahead on legislation tailored to the wishes of conservatives and vehemently opposed by Democrats.

The House Judiciary Committee already has approved two measures and agreed to a third during the day Wednesday as it followed a piecemeal path rather than the all-in-one approach of the Senate.

The House bill approved Wednesday, on a vote of 22-9, would require businesses to check on the legal status of employees within two years, as compared with four in the Senate measure.

With attention beginning to shift to the House, Rep. John Fleming, R-La., said House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, had assured the rank and file they will vote on bills being written on their side of the Capitol. “We are not going to take up the Senate bill,” Fleming said, quoting the speaker.

Internal divisions among Republicans, combined with overwhelming opposition among Democrats, recently sent a farm bill down to defeat in the House, and it is unclear if the GOP will be able to command a majority for its own approach to immigration legislation.

At the same time, rules generally guarantee Democrats a chance to have the full House vote on its own alternatives, and it is unclear whether they might seek the vote on the Senate bill that Republicans hope to avoid.