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Politico: Senate Immigration Reform Supporters May Be Ousted in Coming Elections

Posted September 14, 2010 by Patrick Young, Esq.
Categories: Federal Immigration Policy

Politico says that as many as 17 Democrats and Republicans who supported immigration reform in the past may be out of the US Senate after the November elections. According to the politics blog:

A Republican rout in November would usher in a class of Senate freshmen who ran on pledges of no amnesty for illegal immigrants — a changing of the guard that could doom President Barack Obama’s already faint chances of passing a comprehensive immigration reform bill in his first term.

Immigration reform advocates could see turnover in 17 seats held by Democrats and Republicans who, at one point, voted for a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants, according to a POLITICO analysis of the Senate campaign field. In all cases, the Republicans running for those seats have vowed to never support a legalization program or at least not consider it until the border has been certified secure.

This means the Democratic vision of immigration reform, which couples tough border enforcement and a crackdown on employers with plans to legalize 11 million undocumented immigrants, would need to shift much further to the right to stand any chance in a closely divided Senate.

“The prospects for victory of comprehensive immigration reform are slim,” said Frank Sharry, executive director of America’s Voice, an immigrant advocacy group.

If predictions for a broad Democratic defeat in the midterm elections prove accurate, immigration advocates could start out in January with as few as 30 senators on their side. A total of 73 senators backed a key test vote on immigration reform in 2006…

The outlook for immigration reform turned gloomy last month when Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) became the third senator to lose this year among those who once supported a legalization program.

Murkowski lost the Republican nomination to attorney Joe Miller, who was designated a “True Reform” candidate by the group Numbers USA, which favors immigration restrictions. Unless she runs as a write-in candidate, Murkowski will be one of five Republican incumbents leaving office this year who have voted for immigration reform. She was viewed as a potential swing vote along with Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, Bob Bennett of Utah, George Voinovich of Ohio and Sam Brownback of Kansas — all of whom will be gone.

Tags : congress, immigration reform, politics, republicans

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