Proposed federal immigration bill amendments number in the hundreds

Members of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee started the process this week of considering amendments to the comprehensive immigration reform bill proposed by the “Gang of Eight” senators (consisting of four Republicans and four Democrats). More than 300 proposed amendments were filed, including 77 by Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) alone. Comprehensive immigration reform, as defined by most, has three key components — securing the border, providing for a future flow of workers, and settling permanent status for those already in the country. While the authors of the bill believe it is plenty robust in terms of border security, many of the amendments focused on making it more so. Bill supporters are concerned that many of the amendments are aimed at sabotaging the bill, but the core group behind it remains confident it can keep the 844-page bill on track and free of poison pills.