Hearing Shows Rocky Road for Amnesty Bill
“The difficult road ahead for comprehensive immigration reform became more evident Thursday as Republican critics mounted a sustained assault on the legislation, demanding that it include considerably greater border security measures before legalizing any undocumented immigrants,” the Washington Post says.
“The contentious beginning of the debate in the Senate, where the bill’s prospects for approval are considerably better than in the House, was a clear signal of tough times as the legislation moves forward.”
Border Amendments Shot Down in Senate
“Twenty-eight amendments to the Schumer-Rubio immigration bill were voted on by the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday, and all 12 sponsored by Democrats passed. Meanwhile, conservative Republicans offered five substantive amendments that would have strengthened the border security measures in the bill, and every time Sens. Jeff Flake, R-Ari., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., the two Republican members of the Gang of Eight on the Judiciary Committee, voted with all 10 Democrats to to defeat them,” the Washington Examiner reports.
Oregon Referendum Effort to Overturn License Bill
“Opponents have started their effort to force a statewide election on four-year driver’s cards for Oregonians who do not qualify for standard eight-year licenses. Republican Reps. Sal Esquivel of Medford and Kim Thatcher of Keizer, and Richard LaMountain of Portland, filed the referendum papers with the secretary of state,” the Statesman Journal writes.
“They hope to overturn Senate Bill 833, which Gov. John Kitzhaber signed on May 1. The bill would allow four-year cards for those who cannot prove legal presence in the United States and do not qualify for licenses, which also can be used for federal identification purposes such as boarding commercial aircraft and entering federal buildings.”