Last night, the Senate voted 67-27 for cloture on a border
security compromise amendment to the Border Security, Economic Opportunity and
Immigration Modernization Act bill.
The vote signified potential for significant Republican support for the
Senate comprehensive immigration bill, and represents increased momentum for
its passage. Last week, CCIA
joined more than 100 technology executives in a letter calling for Senate
support of the bill. We are
encouraged to see the Senate making progress in addressing the thorny and
polarizing issue of immigration in the way it has traditionally done:
broadening support by crafting a compromise that is workable for as many
senators as possible.
In the current polarized political environment, much has
been made of how hyper-partisanship is “the new normal” in Washington DC and
that compromise is no longer possible, or even desirable. This “never the twain shall meet”
approach may allow for ideological purity but does not allow for the thing
lawmakers are sent here to do: addressing critical national issues that cannot
wait. Immigration is such an
issue. The status quo in skilled
immigration is a chronic shortage of visas preventing technology companies from
hiring and keeping the workers needed to maintain the U.S. edge in
innovation. The global competition
for talent is well under way and will not wait.
While we have no position on the issue of border security
itself, we do support passage of an immigration reform bill that includes
skilled immigration provisions addressing our concerns. And the way this border security
compromise came about was a logical attempt by lawmakers attempting to find a
way to Yes, rather than drowning each other out with Nos. Faced with a bill they couldn’t
support, Sen. Corker and Sen. Hoeven crafted an amendment addressing their
concerns, the bill supporters worked with them and reached a compromise that
broadened the bill’s support. While
last night’s vote was only for cloture on the amendment and not yet for its
passage, one hopes that this example of legislative functionality is not an
isolated one but part of a pattern that leads to passage of the immigration
reform bill itself.
