Border security has long been the major impediment to attracting conservative votes. Gang of 8 introduces 'border surge'

Two Republican senators unveiled an amendment on Thursday to strengthen the border security provisions of the Gang of Eight’s bipartisan immigration bill. The amendment will help bring aboard swing senators and removes a major impediment to passing the Senate’s immigration reform bill before the July 4th recess.

Sens. John Hoeven (N.D.) and Bob Corker’s (Tenn.) amendment will require that border security be toughened before 11 million undocumented immigrants can pursue green card status, a key requirement of some Republicans.


Requirements in the amendment include completing 700 miles of fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border, adding 20,000 border patrol agents, adding an entry-exit and implementing an E-verify program to prevent illegal immigrants from getting jobs, the senators said.

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“Some people have described this as a border surge, and the fact is we are investing resources in the border that have never been invested before,” Corker said. “The American people have asked us, if we pass an immigration bill on the Senate floor, that we do everything we can to secure the border.”

The bill will be introduced Thursday afternoon, Hoeven said, and co-sponsored by Gang of Eight Republicans John McCain (R-Ariz.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) as well as Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) and Dean Heller (R-Nev.).

Senators hope that the amendment can bring as many 15 Republican votes in support of the immigration bill, which would mean the support for the bill would approach 70 votes in favor.

In pitching the amendment to his colleagues, Graham compared the surge in troops on the border to the surge in Iraq.

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“This is a border surge,” Graham said. “I can look anybody in the eye and tell them that if you put 20,000 Border Patrol agents on the border in addition to 20,000 we’ve got … that’s one every 1,000 feet. That will work. And if you buy technology that helped us fight and create success in Iraq when we did that surge, that will help the Border Patrol agents.”

The Senate tabled an amendment from Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) on Thursday, 54-43, which would have required a hard trigger on border security along the pathway to citizenship but also would have added 5,000 border security agents and security technology on the border. Cornyn asked the deal-making senators how they could criticize his amendment as “budget-busting” when their own amendment went even further.

“We built on the foundation you laid,” Hoeven told Cornyn on the Senate floor. “You asked for 5,000, we gave you 20,000.”

Cornyn also wondered how they would pay for the $30 billion in additional border security that they were pitching. Hoeven responded that the CBO score delivered earlier this week that showed hundreds of billions in deficit reduction would more than pay for more boots on the ground.

“We use about $30 billion to make darn sure the border is secure,” Hoeven said.

Strengthening border security had long been the major impediment to attracting conservative votes, and a compromise that resolves the issue would significantly improve chances for passage of the overall bill.

The deal would exclude immigrants on tourist and student visas from accessing federal subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, according to one immigration advocate briefed on the talks, adopting parts of a plan from Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah).

McCain confirmed those details, telling POLITICO on Thursday: “Right now students and tourists are eligible for Obamacare. That’s not going to be the case.”

In addition to border security and a compromise on benefits, the deal includes changes to E-Verify sought by Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and changes to funding for a federal border security grant program called Operation Stonegarden, backed by Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine).

But one wavering Republican has already signed on: Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk, one of 15 GOP senators who voted against proceeding to the bill last week.

The pending agreement includes a proposal from Kirk that would give citizenship to immigrants who earn a Combat Infantry Badge in the military.

“This bipartisan compromise will restore the people’s trust in our ability to control the border and bring 525,000 people in Illinois out of the shadows,” Kirk said Thursday. “Once the Senate adopts our amendment, I will be proud to vote for a bill that secures our border and respects our heritage as an immigrant nation.”

Corker also said passing his amendment — a vote that is likely not to happen until early next week — would guarantee his vote for the underlying bill. Hoeven was noncommittal, saying he would have to see what other amendments get attached during the floor debate.

The whole package is expected to boost the cost of the immigration bill by $30 to $50 billion, according to a Senate aide. The Congressional Budget Office said the Gang of Eight bill is expected to reduce the deficit by nearly $900 billion over two decades, and those savings are expected to pay for the new investment in border security, Corker said.

Immigration advocacy groups were, so far, tepid on the agreement.

“Do we like this deal? No. Can we live with it? We have to see the details,” said Frank Sharry, the executive director of the pro-reform group America’s Voice.

“But one thing is clear: If dramatically increasing the number of border patrol agents and fencing doesn’t bring a majority of Republicans to vote for this bill, then there’s only one conclusion to draw: they don’t want more border security; they hate Latinos,” he said.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), another member of the Gang of Eight, told Fox News on Wednesday night that the measure would “significantly and substantially increase” the border security provisions in the legislation.

“This is not about anti-immigrants or anything or trying to be tough on anybody,” Rubio said on Fox News. “We are a sovereign country. Every sovereign country in the world has the right to protect its borders and who has access to the country.

Corker, on MSNBC, said the new investments in border security in his plan were “almost overkill.”

“I think if that’s the issue that people have, I think everyone working together have come up with a way to deal with that issue,” Corker said.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid reiterated Thursday that senators will do “everything in our power” to finish the bill before the July 4 recess.

“I expect and I hope a group of Republican senators working with the Gang of Eight will come forward with a way we can move forward with this bill dealing with border security,” Reid said. “I’m ready and willing to look at any reasonable amendment.”

Reid said votes on amendments will likely resume on the bill at noon Thursday. Corker has said that his agreement with Hoeven won’ t likely get a vote until next week.

Tal Kopan and Carrie Budoff Brown contributed to this report.