US Senate passes wide-reaching reforms on immigration
The U.S. Senate has approved a landmark immigration bill that would provide millions of undocumented immigrants a chance to become citizens, but the leader of the House of Representatives said the measure was dead on arrival in the House.
US Senate chamber
In a rare show of bi-partisanship, the Democratic-controlled Senate passed the
bill by a vote of 68-32, with 14 of the Senate's 46 Republicans joining all
52 Democrats and two independents in support of the bill.
A packed gallery of supporters, who have laboured decades for such a moment,
witnessed the vote, which came after three weeks of sometimes heated debate.
They were fully aware that hours before the vote, House Speaker John Boehner
reiterated that Republicans would "do our own bill," one that "reflects
the will of our majority," many of whom oppose citizenship for
immigrants who are in the United States illegally.
While a combined vote of House Democrats and Republicans could conceivably
team up to pass the measure, Boehner repeated that he would not allow
consideration of any measure that does not have the support of most of the
House's 234 Republicans.
That position may make it impossible to pass a comprehensive immigration bill
in this Congress, a top priority of Democratic President Barack Obama.
Comments