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Toomey “Unlikely” to Support Immigration Bill

Official PortraitAfter several signs that Pat Toomey could be one of the much ballyhooed list of 70 Senators to support the bipartisan “Gang of Eight” immigration reform bill, the Senator now says he is likely to vote against the legislation.

“Absent substantive changes—which do not appear possible in the Senate at this point—I am unlikely to support the underlying bill,” Toomey said.

Yesterday the Senate voted to invoke cloture, that is to end debate, on the Hoeven-Corker Amendment. The amendment is expected to be adopted by the Senate this week.

Proposed by Republicans John Hoeven (R-ND) and Bob Corker (R-TN), the amendment was crafted in order to appeal to GOP Senators and conservative Democrats with concerns about the current bill having insufficient provisions for border security. Among other things, the amendment would add $30 billion to securing the border and double the number of border control agents.

Senator Toomey, however, voted against ending debate on the amendment yesterday. This marked the first time Toomey had signaled opposition to the bill as he had voted to proceed with debate twice last week.

“I voted against the Hoeven-Corker amendment to the immigration bill because it does not solve the fundamental problem of our current immigration policy and the underlying bill, namely, inadequate legal immigration and guest worker provisions for low-skilled workers,” he said. “Absent a solution to this problem, with or without the Hoeven-Corker amendment, the underlying bill invites the next wave of illegal immigration to America.”

Among Toomey’s issues with the legislation is that his proposed amendment to lift the cap on W visas will be one of several amendments not voted on.

Pennsylvania’s senior Senator Bob Casey supported the Hoeven-Corker amendment, as he does immigration reform on the whole.

“Senator Casey voted to advance the Hoeven-Corker border security amendment because he believes that border security is a critical part of comprehensive immigration reform,” said spokesperson April Mellody. “He knows that the current immigration system is broken and he continues to support comprehensive reform to address this once and for all.”

7 Responses

  1. Casey has proven time and again he is owned by unions and Party bosses. He is the subject of ridicule around the country for admitting to a reporter he voted on a bill (S744) he had not read.
    This bill grants rights to illegal aliens superior to those given law-abiding citizens. It will, if passed, turn our country over to the very people who invaded it.

  2. Vote for the benefit of the country!
    Slow down and stop the massive, incomprehensible immigration reform act. Wanting to improve the immigration situation does not require that you support an effort which will undermine the welfare of our legal citizens.
    Failure by successive government to secure our massive border leaves our citizens vulnerable. THAT is the first issue you should be addressing.
    It is so very disappointing to see men and women who say they love and support our country do it harm, little by little. Our rights are under assault. Our jobs are threatened and lost by policy blunders. Our currency is devalued by quantitative easing. The government is forcing abortion and birth control funding by individuals, like me, who object to this on moral and religious grounds.

    I am disheartened. I expect so much better from all of you on Capitol Hill. Be brave! Break from what is expected of you and do what you believe is actually right.

  3. Good. He would of lost my vote if he voted in favor of this joke of a bill. The Democratic Party needs a permanent underclass and this bill provides just that.

  4. Toomey’s earlier votes permitting the bill to proceed are betrayals of his party and his country, and Republicans will not forgot that, Arlen Toomey’s fig-leaf posturing at this late stage in the game to the contrary notwithstanding.

    Toomey — like all Republicans — is delusional if he thinks US immigration is “broken” because of current law; nothing could be further from the truth. US immigration is broken because current law is not being enforced. The 1986 law REQUIRES employers to insure that all hires are US citizens or have temporary work permits (H1B Visas, Green cards, etc.) Start punishing employers who hire illegals and our “broken system” would be fixed overnight.

    The sad truth is that the US Chamber of Commerce, wealthy Republicans, and greedy agri-businessmen have entered into an unholy alliance with Democrats (who have their own reasons for supporting “reform”) in order to guarantee a continued flow of low wage, unskilled labor into the US. US workers will pay for this disaster in the form of depressed wages, and US taxpayers — who already subsidize this modern form of slavery — will pay for this disastrous sell-out now and for generations to come.

    IF, that is, the Republic survives.

  5. There has been a law to complete the fence and enforce border security for several years. There is NO REASON for another law that says we must build a fence when the first one was not enforced. Further, there is NO REASON for us to trust that this time it will actually be enforced. Prove it. This bill is amnesty without future immigration control. It is a disaster.

  6. Pat Toomey just shows again that he is on the outer fringe and does not reflect the values of most Pennsylvanians. 2016 can’t get here fast enough!

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