Immigration Reform — Cloture. Attempting to end debate and force a final vote on so-called immigration reform, Senator Harry Reid (D-Nev.) invoked a motion for cloture on Ted Kennedy’s Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 (S. 1639). Kennedy’s bill, also known as the “grand compromise” on immigration reform, was arrived at through negotiation between the Bush administration and Senate leaders. The Kennedy bill would, among other things, create an enhanced guest-worker program, call for the acceleration of the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America, and establish the Z visa, which would grant amnesty by placing illegal immigrants on a path toward citizenship. The vote on cloture would reveal whether or not the Senate had enough votes to force a vote on final passage of S. 1639.
The Senate rejected the motion to invoke cloture by a vote of 46-53 (Roll Call 235) on June 28, 2007 (60 votes are required to invoke cloture). We have assigned pluses to the nays because cloture would have ended floor debate on the Kennedy bill and enabled a vote by the full Senate on this dangerous piece of legislation.
