Today's Senate Immigration activity

In a move that can bee seen as a bid to bolster his standing within certain factions of the Republican party in anticipation of a 2008 Presidential run, Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) put his enforcement only bill before the full Senate for debate Thursday. Senators began amending Frist's "Securing America's Borders Act" (S.2454) which mirrors it's House counterpart, the "Border Protection, Antiterrorism and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005" (HR4437) with the addition of increased immigration quotas. Members adopted an amendment that would require a report on deaths while crossing the border, and discussed amendments to prohibit criminal aliens from participating in a temporary worker program and to help defray the cost of enforcing immigration laws at the border by state and local governments.

When the Senate reconvenes tomorrow at 9:30 it is expected that further debate on the bill will continue throughout the day while the leadership tries to reach consensus on which amendments to take up first. The least controversial will be brought to a vote first to speed the process.

The main event – the vote on whether or not to replace Frist's bill in it's entirety with the one passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee last Monday is not expect to take place until next Monday afternoon. The Committees "Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of2006" ( which would then become S.2454) would then be worked on throughout the next week and into that weekend according to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairmen Arlen Specter (R-PA)

To veiw the final version of the Judiciary bill that will go to the floor HERE

tags: immigration, Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006, Specter bill, Senate Judiciary, S. 2454,