U.S. Senate rejects bipartisan immigration plan - and Trump´s more restrictive one too
(The Star Food)

WASHINGTON—The Senate rejected both a bipartisan immigration plan and a more restrictive proposal by U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday, suggesting the latest election-year debate on an issue that fires up both parties’ voters will produce a familiar outcome: stalemate.Facing a White House veto threat and opposition from the Senate’s GOP leaders, the chamber derailed a plan by bipartisan senators that would have helped 1.8 million young immigrant “Dreamers� achieve citizenship. It also would have doled out $25 billion (U.S.) for Trump’s coveted wall with Mexico and for other border security measures, but it didn’t go as far as Trump wanted in curbing legal immigration.It lost 54-45, six short of the 60 votes that were needed for passage. That scuttled what had seemed the likeliest chance for sweeping immigration legislation to make it through the Senate this year.Read more:Trump says ‘last chance’ for Democrats, Republicans to make deal for ‘Dreamers’With U.S. budget deal all sides claim big wins, but next fight over immigration looks tougherU.S. Senate agrees to budget deal with money for defence and infrastructure, but no plan for ‘Dreamers’Trump’s own plan fared even worse as 60 senators voted no and just 39 voted for it — 21 shy of the 60 needed. The embarrassing outcome for the president underscored the feelings of Republicans concerned about election damage in swing states with high numbers of Hispanic voters.Top Democrats had held out faint hopes that the bipartisan package would prevail, or at least force Trump to negotiate further. But he proved unwilling to fold on his demands for a tougher bill, reflecting the hard-line immigration stance that was a cornerstone of his 2016 presidential run.In a written statement earlier Thursday, the White House labelled the bipartisan proposal “dangerous policy that will harm the nation.� It singled out a provis ...