The Latest: Senate votes leave immigrants in limbo
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on immigration legislation in Congress (all times local):
9:20 p.m.
The Senate has left hundreds of thousands of "Dreamer" immigrants in limbo, rejecting rival plans that would have spared them from deportation and strengthened the nation's border security.
Senators have also dealt President Donald Trump an especially galling defeat as more than a quarter of fellow Republicans abandoned him on an issue that helped propel him to the White House.
Also defeated was a plan by a bipartisan group of senators who offered a compromise that would have shielded the young immigrants and financed Trump's demands for money to build his coveted border wall with Mexico, though more gradually than he wants.
The day's votes, in which four separate proposals were defeated, illustrated anew Congress' steep challenge in striking a deal on an issue that's proven intractable for years.
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4:07 p.m.
The Senate has rejected President Donald Trump's immigration bill. That means the chamber has now rejected four separate immigration proposals, suggesting that its long-awaited debate on the issue could well end in gridlock.
The vote on Trump's proposal was 39-60, well below the 60 votes needed for approval.
Trump had proposed creating a 10- to 12-year path to citizenship for young immigrant "Dreamers," a concession to Democrats. In exchange, he sought a quick infusion of $25 billion to build his wall and other border security steps, tightened restrictions on relatives that legal immigrants could sponsor for citizenship and an end to a visa lottery aimed at boosting diversity among immigrants.
Democrats and many Republicans opposed Trump's wall spending and curbs on immigrants' relatives.
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3:47 p.m.
The Senate has blocked a bipartisan proposal that would have provided 1.8 million young immigrants a chance for citizenship and $25 billion for a border wall.
The bill was crafted by moderate Republicans and Democrats billing themselves as the "Common Sense Coalition." They described the proposal as having the most bipartisan support in the Senate, but it came under fire from the White House and the Department of Homeland Security.
The vote was 54-45, six votes short of the 60 needed to advance.
The moderates' measure does not alter a lottery that distributes about 55,000 visas annually to people from diverse countries. Trump has proposed ending it and redistributing its visas to other immigrants.
The group spent weeks trying to craft a middle ground on the thorny immigration issue.
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3:42 p.m.
The Senate has rejected legislation targeting cities that don't fully comply with federal authorities in enforcing immigration law.
The legislation from Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., would block federal grants to so-called "sanctuary cities."
The Senate rejected the amendment by a vote of 54-45, six short of the 60 needed for passage.
It was one of four proposals the Senate considered Thursday in an effort pass an immigration bill.
Toomey says the policies of sanctuary cities endanger all residents by conferring a special protection to illegal immigrants.
But officials from sanctuary cities say their policies foster trust with minority groups and encourage them to report crimes and come forward as witnesses.
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3:04 p.m.
The Senate has finally started voting on rival immigration proposals.
And in the first roll call, it has blocked a narrow measure by Republican Sen. John McCain and Democratic Sen. Chris Coons. The vote was 52-47 - eight short of the 60 votes needed to pass.
The proposal would protect around 1.8 million young "Dreamer" immigrants from deportation and direct the government to gain better control of the U.S.-Mexico border by 2020. But it doesn't give the Dreamers their own way to gain citizenship, and it doesn't explicitly provide the $25 billion President Donald Trump wants for a border wall.
The Senate also plans to vote on a bipartisan compromise that helps Dreamers and provides the border security money Trump wants. It will also vote on the president's plan, which also clamps restrictions on legal immigration.
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2:40 p.m.
President Donald Trump says a bipartisan immigration compromise in the Senate would be a "total catastrophe," adding to his earlier veto threat of the bill.
The president says on Twitter that it would create "a giant amnesty (including for dangerous criminals)" and would fail to achieve some of his main goals, including the building of a border wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Trump tweets that voting for the amendment "would be a vote AGAINST law enforcement, and a vote FOR open borders." He is reiterating his support for a bill by Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, which includes many of the immigration principles he's put forward.
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2:05 p.m.
The Senate plans to begin voting at 2:30 p.m. on four dueling immigration proposals.
A sweeping plan by President Donald Trump seemed sure to fail. It would help 1.8 million young "Dreamer" immigrants become citizens, provide $25 billion to build his proposed border wall with Mexico and tighten current legal immigration rules.
Also lined up for a vote is a proposal by a bipartisan group of senators that would match Trump's plans on Dreamers and provide border security money, but is less restrictive on legal immigration. The White House has threatened to veto that measure, saying it would dangerously loosen protections against illegal immigration. Its fate was uncertain.
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1:24 p.m.
A bipartisan group of senators pitching an immigration bill is pushing back against criticism from the Trump administration.
The senators are backing the spending of $25 billion on border security improvements and a pathway to citizenship for about 1.8 million immigrants brought into the country as children. The senators say their proposal is focused on a narrow set of problems and is not designed to serve as comprehensive immigration reform.
But Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine says the amendment is the only legislation in the Senate with broad, bipartisan support.
Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina is pleading with the president to shut out some of the critics on both sides of the issue. He says, "this is the best shot you'll ever get."
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12:30 p.m.
The White House is threatening to veto a bipartisan Senate immigration proposal and says the emerging deal would "produce a flood of new illegal immigration in the coming months."
The Senate's debate on immigration is aimed at finding a way to help young immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children who risk deportation because they lack permanent authorization to stay in the country.
The White House says the proposal would "would undermine the safety and security of American families and impede economic growth for American workers."
Republicans are backing a plan that offers a chance for citizenship for up to 1.8 million young "Dreamer" immigrants, as well as providing $25 billion for the president's proposed wall with Mexico and restricting legal immigration.
Democrats prefer a bipartisan plan that helps the Dreamers but doles out the wall money slowly and has far milder curbs on legal immigration.
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11:45 a.m.
The Senate's party leaders are pointing fingers of blame amid growing doubts that any immigration proposals will get enough votes to survive.
Showdown votes may come Thursday.
Republicans are backing a plan by President Donald Trump that offers a chance for citizenship for up to 1.8 million young "Dreamer" immigrants, as well as providing $25 billion for his proposed wall with Mexico and restricting legal immigration.
Democrats prefer a bipartisan plan that helps the Dreamers but doles out the wall money slowly and has far milder curbs on legal immigration.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says Democrats aren't backing any measures that have a chance of becoming law.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer says Trump is the problem. Schumer says the American people will blame him if the immigration effort fails.
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10:20 a.m.
President Donald Trump says Congress should be - in his words - "strongly considering a system of Merit Based Immigration" as the Senate works on an immigration plan to protect young "Dreamers."
The president says on Twitter that a merit-based system would allow the United States to "have the people ready, willing and able to help all of those companies moving into the USA!"
His comment comes as a group of senators pushes a bipartisan plan that aims to offer citizenship to certain young immigrants brought to the U.S. as children - and provides billions to build a border wall with Mexico.
The Trump administration has denounced the proposal, saying it will create "mass amnesty for over 10 million illegal aliens, including criminals."
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8:25 a.m.
The Trump administration is denouncing a bipartisan immigration deal in the Senate, saying it will "create a mass amnesty for over 10 million illegal aliens, including criminals."
At issue is a compromise announced Wednesday by 16 senators with centrist views. It seeks to balance Democrats' fight to offer citizenship to young "Dreamer" immigrants with President Donald Trump's demands for billions to build a border wall with Mexico.
The Department of Homeland Security sent out a statement on the measure just before 1 a.m. Thursday, saying the compromise would "be the end of immigration enforcement in America and only serve to draw millions more illegal aliens with no way to remove them."
The department says the proposal does not address the administration's border security and immigration concerns.
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12:49 a.m.
A group of senators reached a bipartisan agreement aimed at balancing Democrats' fight to offer citizenship to young "Dreamer" immigrants with President Donald Trump's demands for billions to build his coveted border wall with Mexico.
Though the compromise was announced Wednesday by 16 senators with centrist views on the issue and was winning support from many Democrats, it faced an uncertain fate. Leaders were trying to schedule votes on that plan and three other immigration proposals for Thursday, which they hoped would bring the chamber's showdown over the hot-button issue to a close.
While not specifically mentioning the bipartisan pact, Trump urged lawmakers to oppose any plan that doesn't meet his more stringent demands, which include curbs on legal immigration and the abolition of a visa lottery.
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This story has been corrected to reflect 39-60 vote on Trump measure.