AgJOBS (Amnesty). Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) tried to get the so-called AgJOBS bill through the Senate by attaching it as an amendment to the supplemental appropriations bill (H.R. 1268). The AgJOBS measure would grant agricultural workers who are in this country illegally temporary residence status, thereby granting them amnesty and putting them on a path toward U.S. citizenship. If adopted, AgJOBS would be an open invitation for other non-citizens to cross our borders illegally with the expectation that they too would receive amnesty.
AgJOBS supporters attempted to push their measure forward by invoking "cloture," thereby limiting the debate that has stalled the measure, bringing it up for a vote. A three-fifths majority vote of the entire Senate (60 votes) is needed to invoke cloture. The Senate rejected the motion to invoke cloture on April 19, 2005 by a vote of 53-45 (Roll Call 98). We have assigned pluses to the nays because the AgJOBS measure would provide amnesty to many illegal aliens.
