Senators kill amendments tied to bill on immigration; border security issue put on back burner

The Senate immigration bill survived its first tests Thursday as a core group of Republicans and Democrats held together, killing efforts to require full border security requirements before legalizing illegal immigrants [illegal aliens].

But the committee defeated Republican efforts to put that requirement and others before legalization. Members also rejected following through on a 2006 law that ordered the government to build 700 miles of two-tier fencing on the 2,000-mile-long border...

“The committee has voted down every serious border security amendment that has been presented here today,” said Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas Republican. “The bill before this committee that relies entirely on subjective assessments from the secretary of Homeland Security that have no teeth.”

The last immigration bill debated by senators failed in 2007 partly because voters didn’t believe the government was serious about enforcing the law...