Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 - Legislative History

Legislative History

The bill was a compromise based largely on three previous failed immigration reform bills:

• The Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act (S. 1033), a bill proposed in May 2005 by Senators Ted Kennedy and John McCain, sometimes referred to as the "McCain-Kennedy or McKennedy Bill."
• The Comprehensive Enforcement and Immigration Reform Act of 2005 (S. 1438), a bill proposed in July 2005 by Senators John Cornyn and Jon Kyl, sometimes referred to as the "Cornyn-Kyl Bill."
• The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006 (S. 2611), sponsored by Senator Arlen Specter, which was passed in the Senate in May 2006 but never passed in the House.

The bill's sole sponsor in the Senate was Majority Leader Harry Reid, though it was crafted in large part as a result of efforts by Senators Kennedy, McCain and Kyl, along with Senator Lindsey Graham, and input from President George W. Bush, who strongly supported the bill. For that reason it was referred to in the press by various combinations of these five men's names, most commonly "Kennedy-Kyl". A larger group of senators was involved in creating the bill, sometimes referred to as the 'Gang of 12'. This group included, in addition to the aforementioned senators, Senators Dianne Feinstein, Mel Martinez, Ken Salazar and Arlen Specter. Senators Jim DeMint, Jeff Sessions, and David Vitter led the opposition to the bill.

At the same time, the Security Through Regularized Immigration and a Vibrant Economy Act of 2007 was being considered in the United States House of Representatives, although to considerably less public attention.

On June 7, three Senate votes on cloture (a move to end discussion) for the bill failed with the first losing 33-63, the second losing 34-61 and the third losing 45-50. This had been thought by some observers to signal the end of the bill's chances, since on that day, after the first failing vote, Harry Reid had told reporters that, if another vote on cloture failed, "the bill's over with. The bill's gone."

However, at the urging of President Bush, the bill was brought back for discussion in the Senate as bill S. 1639 on June 25. On June 26, a motion to proceed passed the Senate, by a margin of 64-35 (under Senate rules it needed 60 votes). A number of amendments to the bill were considered and rejected. On June 28, the bill failed to get the 60 votes necessary to end debate. The final cloture vote lost 46-53. This effectively ended its chances, and President Bush said he was disappointed at Congress's failure to act on the issue.