Obama convenes business leaders ahead of key Senate vote

A key vote awaits in the U.S. Sentate on the immigration reform bill. Lawmakers will vote on an important provision that would ostensibly pave the way for the bill (as a whole) to pass through the Senate.

A border security amendment is the possible roadblock to the bill’s confirmation. As we reported in previous posts, Republicans in the Senate (and the House of Representatives as well) see border security as a critical factor in making any type of immigration reform work. Essentially, they were unsupportive of legislation that did not keep undocumented immigrants from reaping the benefits of the opportunities in America without following the law.

In advance of the vote, President Obama is convening a meeting of business leaders to garner support for the overall bill. One of the benefits discussed is the economic impact that the number of new immigrants would have. According to the Congressional Budget Office, passing the immigration reform bill would reduce the national deficit by $200 billion over the next decade, and nearly $700 billion by 2030.

The meeting is scheduled to take place just hours before the Senate is to vote, and is expected to propel momentum for legislators to support the border security amendment.

The change in the bill would expand the size of the U.S Border Patrol Agency by putting an additional 20,000 agents along the border between the United States and Mexico as part of a $30 billion package to strengthen  border security. It would also identify (and appropriate resources to) problem areas.

We will continue to report on this story as details arise.

Source: ABC News.com, Obama to tout economic impact of immigration, June 23, 2013