The votes came as the White House ramped up its public outreach on the issue. Immigration passes key Senate test

The Senate on Tuesday overwhelmingly agreed to launch a major effort to rewrite U.S. immigration laws, setting the stage for weeks of debate on securing the nation’s borders, legalizing undocumented residents and modernizing the country’s immigration system.

Senators voted 82-15 to move forward on the Gang of Eight immigration bill; 60 votes were needed for passage. All 15 votes against the motion were from Republicans. The bill cleared a second procedural vote later Tuesday.


Most senators, eager to work on the bill and leave their own imprints in what could be a landmark piece of legislation, were expected to agree to open debate, although it doesn’t guarantee their support on final passage.

The biggest surprise came from Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), a moderate Republican who is a top target for reform backers. Kirk said he wasn’t satisfied with how the bill handled border security. He praised a plan from Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who has outlined tougher security benchmarks that must be met before newly legalized immigrants can become permanent residents.

( PHOTOS: Pols react to immigration deal)

I’ve always said border security first, and I actually mean that procedurally,” Kirk told POLITICO after the vote. “If [the] Cornyn [amendment] can pass, then that opens the door for me.”

The overwhelming bipartisan vote gives the Gang of Eight room to negotiate, but finding an acceptable approach to tightening border security is emerging as major challenge for the bipartisan coalition.

Top Senate Republicans such as Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Cornyn said earlier they would agree to start debate, but McConnell made it clear he’s not happy with the measure as written.

McConnell, in his sharpest language yet on the immigration bill, criticized several “serious flaws” he saw in the legislation – particularly in the areas of border security and government benefits for immigrants. The top Senate Republican said Cornyn’s proposal is a “key amendment” that would improve the bill’s border-security provisions.

“I’ll vote to debate it and for the opportunity to amend it,” he said Tuesday morning. “But in the days ahead, there will need to be major changes to this bill if it’s going to become law.”

( PHOTOS: At a glance: The Senate immigration deal)

Many Republicans who are seen as the likeliest votes in favor of the Gang of Eight immigration bill voted to move forward on the debate. They include Republicans such as Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, Dean Heller of Nevada, and Rob Portman of Ohio.

The second vote later Tuesday was 84-15. This time, Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) voted with Republicans against the procedural motion, while Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) voted to proceed to the bill.

Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has said he wants to vote on the bill by the end of the month. In a floor speech Tuesday, he told a story of an undocumented Las Vegas woman he helped shield from deportation.

Other Democrats stood up to defend the bill. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), who worked as a Jesuit missionary in Honduras during law school, delivered his speech in near-perfect Spanish, urging Congress to “show this country and the world that this is not a Republican bill and it is not a Democratic bill, but it is a strong bipartisan bill.”

And some GOP opponents said they’re not interested in debating the legislation.

“A bill with a $6.3 trillion price tag that completely walks away from border security is not ready for serious discussion or consideration,” said Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), referring to a cost figure calculated by the conservative Heritage Foundation. He voted against proceeding to the bill.

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), a persistent foe of the immigration bill, said simply: “The only thing that’s guaranteed to work is the amnesty.”

The Senate votes came on the same day the White House ramped up its public outreach on immigration.

“There is no good reason to play procedural games or to engage in obstruction just to block the best chance we’ve had in years to address this problem in a way that’s fair to middle class families, to business owners, to legal immigrants,” President Barack Obama said, flanked by a broad coalition of reform advocates.

Immigration negotiators on Capitol Hill had asked the White House to lay low, and on Tuesday, key Republicans again praised Obama on his handling of the issue.

“He’s been very good,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said of Obama. “The president’s tone and engagement has been very helpful to the bill. I didn’t hear the speech, but I can’t ask for more cooperation than he’s given.”

The House has so far lagged behind the Senate on immigration, but one top negotiator, Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.), said Tuesday morning that a bipartisan group in the House is readying its bill for release in the next “week or two.”

Speaker John Boehner, who has privately signaled that he wants the House to act on immigration reform by the August recess, said in an ABC News interview that “we could have a bill” by the end of this year.

Carrie Budoff Brown and Burgess Everett contributed to this report.