If Senator Menendez is correct, my prediction of imminent passage of immigration reform in the Senate may have been slightly premature.
From The Hill
Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) said Friday that the “Gang of Eight” immigration bill doesn’t have enough votes to pass the Senate. [...]
“We don’t currently have 60 votes identified in the Senate,” Menendez said in an interview with Univision. “We need to add more votes on the floor. That means that the community in your state, in every state, should be contacting your state’s two U.S. Senators saying that they want comprehensive immigration reform, that they are going to judge their political future based on this vote.”
I believe if immigration reform is allowed to come to a vote it will pass with ease, but the threat of filibuster remains.
Will Senate Republicans filibuster immigration reform? They may, but the electoral consequences for doing that could be severe. So severe, in fact, that it influenced my prediction that the bill will pass. And I’m sure they’re aware that they’re playing with fire, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they won’t.
Meanwhile, I view it as a given that the House will not pass the kind of reform we’re looking for unless it’s passed with the help of Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats and minimal conservative support.