Amnesty for Illegal Immigrants. David Vitter (R-La.) offered this amendment to Ted Kennedy’s substitute amendment (S. Amdt. 1150) for the immigration reform bill of 2007 (S. 1348). The Vitter amendment would drastically alter the scope of the immigration bill by striking an amnesty provision from the bill that would establish the Z visa, which would be issued to millions of illegal immigrants, placing them on a path toward citizenship.
The Senate rejected the Vitter amendment by a vote of 29-66 (Roll Call 180) on May 24, 2007. We have assigned pluses to the yeas because the Vitter amendment would prevent those who have entered the United States unlawfully from gaining legal status, also known as amnesty.
