The Sunday morning talk shows have been discussing comprehensive immigration reform for the past several months as the issue continues to be debated by Congress and by the general public.
Senators from Chuck Schumer to Marco Rubio, two key members of the “Gang of Eight” that drafted the bipartisan bill, have appeared on the shows promoting the merits of immigration reform.
Republican Senator Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire is the latest elected official to voice her support for comprehensive immigration reform, which includes a pathway to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants currently in the country.
“I’ve looked at this very carefully,” said Ayotte on Face the Nation. “Our immigration system is completely broken; we’ve got 11 million people living in this country illegally and in the shadows. We have a legal immigration system that isn’t meeting our needs to grow the economy. And so I looked at this carefully, this is a thoughtful bipartisan solution to a tough problem and so that’s why I’m going to support it.”
Ayotte’s support for the bill should be enough to push the bill past the 60-vote threshold needed to prevent a Republican filibuster.
With Democrats and Independents expected to account for 54 votes in favor, the bill would still need six Republicans on board to get the bill through the Senate. In addition to Ayotte will be the four Republican members of the Gang of Eight that crafted the legislation, John McCain, Jeff Flake, Lindsey Graham, and Marco Rubio, as well as Orrin Hatch, who voted the bill out of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The bill hits the Senate floor this week and will be debated in the weeks to come. Chuck Schumer has stated that he expects the bill to pass the Senate by July 4.
This is the time that we keep the pressure on our elected officials to do what’s right for America and pass comprehensive immigration reform.
