Senate supporters of immigration reform think they emerged from the judiciary panel’s hearings in a strong position, adopting key amendments to help mitigate criticisms. In 2007, when a bipartisan group offered a bill, Senate leaders avoided the committee process and took the legislation directly to the floor, where opponents quickly fractured the coalition with “poison pill†amendments.
This time, heading into the committee hearings, Republican critics sought to employ sustained pressure on the bipartisan group that had drafted the legislation over months of private negotiations. GOP members produced two-thirds of the 301 amendments filed with the committee, focused largely on border security.
The goal, in many cases, was not necessarily to alter the legislation but rather to force the four Gang of Eight members on the committee — Democrats Charles E. Schumer (N.Y.) and Richard J. Durbin (Ill.) and Republicans Lindsey O. Graham (S.C.) and Jeff Flake (Ariz.) — into difficult votes on issues where Democrats and Republicans are ideologically opposed.
