Though the immigration bill was approved in a 68-32 vote on Thursday afternoon, US Senator Mike Johanns says he did not vote for it.
During his weekly conference call with Nebraska media, Johanns said the bill was hastily written and fails to meet certain objectives.
He says the foundation of meaningful immigration reform has to be border security.
Johanns says he has spoken with individuals who protect the nation’s borders and they’ve told him that this amendment actually weakens national security.
But he says that’s only the beginning of the amendment’s shortcomings.
He says illegal immigrants would be rewarded almost immediately with legal status.
"The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office reporst that this bill would allow those given legal status, access to Pell Grants, students loans, food stamps, Medicaid for some, and I suspect that the list will continue to grow as we understand this bill.”
Senator Johanns says the nation’s immigration system needs to be fixed but this legislation will not do it.
He says the Senate will likely be debating this issue again within the next decade.