Immigration advocates huddle after setback, might push stand-alone bill

Immigration reform advocates will huddle this week to plot their next steps after being dealt a major setback, which could include asking Senate Democratic leaders to bring a stand-alone bill to the floor that would allow young illegal immigrants a path to citizenship.

Groups that favor immigration reform acknowledged Tuesday that they lost their best chance in years at passing the DREAM Act when the Senate failed to advance the defense authorization bill. The measure, which would enable certain illegal immigrants to achieve citizenship if they were brought to the country as minors, would have been offered as an amendment to the defense bill had it proceeded.

"We were not the dealer in this card game," said Alberto Cardenas, head of Americans for Immigration Reform, a group of business leaders who support changes to immigration law. "This is the hand we were dealt, and you play with the hand you were dealt."

But for some advocates the situation was starting to become a case of déjà vu. Senate Democrats tried unsuccessfully to attach the DREAM Act to the defense authorization bill in 2007, only to then turn around and offer it as a stand-alone bill. It failed to advance in a 52-44 vote. Eight Democrats jumped ranks and would not support ending debate. Only one of them is now gone, the late Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va.

Cardenas said a coalition of business groups plans to meet Thursday to discuss their strategy. When asked if the groups might ask Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., to bring up the DREAM Act as a stand-alone bill, Cardenas said: "You bet."

"Nothing is off the table. If bringing this up as a stand-alone is an option, then by all means let's do what is pragmatic," he said.

Leaders of the Campaign to Reform Immigration for America plan to meet Wednesday to assess their next moves, said Ali Noorani, chair of the campaign and executive director of the National Immigration Forum.

He said it was too early to know if the campaign will ask Senate Democrats to move the DREAM Act as a stand-alone.

"There are two strategic questions that we have to answer. One is how do we continue to build strength to make sure that our voices are heard in November. And the other strategic question is how do we secure legislative wins?" Noorani said.

He said a focus for the campaign will be educating immigrant voters about what occurred in the Senate and helping to mobilize them to turnout in November's elections.

The campaign, along with several other groups that favor immigration reform, blamed Republicans for preventing the defense authorization bill from advancing. To be sure, no GOP senators voted for cloture. But two Democrats broke ranks by not voting for cloture, Arkansas Sens. Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor.

The immigration advocates also tried to put their best spin on Tuesday's vote. "This is not a loss. This is only another step in the process," Noorani said.

Cardenas said that some Republicans in recent days have talked about the need for immigration reform. "This is not a nail in the coffin for addressing the issue," he said. "I feel like we made progress."