The Senate voted Thursday morning to table an amendment to the comprehensive immigration reform bill that would require the borders to be effectively secured for six months before opening a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants.
The amendment, sponsored by Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, was tabled by a vote of 57 to 43.
The four Republican members of the Gang of Eight, which wrote the immigration bill — Sens. John McCain, Marco Rubio, Jeff Flake, and Lindsey Graham — joined Democrats and Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski in voting to table the amendment.
Two Democrats, West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin and Arkansas Sen. Mark Pryor, voted with the majority of Republicans against tabling it.
“This vote proves this ‘open and fair process’ is a farce,” Grassley said, according to The Hill. “The majority is afraid of having a true vote on my amendment. … This is not the right way to start off on a very important bill.”
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said on the floor that he had alerted Grassley and his staff in advance that he was going to move to table the amendment.
Securing the border is a sticking point for many Republicans considering how to vote on the bill. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas has also proposed an amendment to increase border security before allowing a path to citizenship.