In a rare display of bipartisanship, 14 Republicans voted for the immigration bill. Sen. Rob Portman was not among them.
The bill would grant provisional legal status to immigrants now in the country illegally and they could get permanent rights to live here over ten years. That is to coincide with a doubling of border patrol agents among other heightened border security measures.
But Portman voted "no," arguing that the bill didn't go far enough to force employers to verify the legal status of workers. He claimed that Democrats blocked a vote on his amendment. A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid called that "a load of bull."
Sen. Sherrod Brown and all other Democrats in the Senate voted for the immigration reforms.
The ball is now in the court of House Speaker John Boehner. He says "we'll do our own bill" -- one that reflects the will of the majority of Republicans in the House.
