Large swath of Senate Dems vote to advance GOP’s immigration bill

Senate Democrats overwhelmingly helped advance the GOP's first bill to address illegal immigration on Thursday, a signal the legislation could pass next week.

Only nine Democrats voted against moving forward on the legislation, and even party leaders like Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Minority Whip Dick Durbin (Ill.) voted to advance it. However, some of those Democrats have pushed to make amendments to the bill — something Republicans are unlikely to allow — so its prospects for passage are still unclear.

The bill is named after a Georgia nursing student murdered by an undocumented immigrant last year and would mandate the detention of undocumented immigrants who are charged with theft or burglary. It passed the House earlier this week with notable bipartisan support.