{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.cochran.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-releases?ContentRecord_id=5cfd379d-348d-4af9-b733-01fd385b9b01", "COCHRAN OPPOSES IMMIGRATION REFORM BILL", "2013-06-27", "2013", "2013-06", "Republican", "House", "MS", "Thad Cochran", "C000567", "www.cochran.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senator Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) today voted against passage of the Senate\u2019s immigration reform bill, determining that the legislation will not solve the border security or enforcement problems that now characterize illegal immigration in the United States.\r\nThe Senate on Thursday voted (68-32) to approve an immigration reform bill (S.744) that would launch a process to grant legal status to the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants now in the United States.\u00a0 It pledges $46 billion to secure the nation\u2019s borders.\r\n\u201cThe Senate bill is fundamentally flawed.\u00a0 It represents a headlong rush to offer a path toward citizenship for those here illegally, with more promises that illegal crossings on the Southwest border might finally end.\u00a0 For all its reported benefits, the Congressional Budget Office also reported that it will increase unemployment, suppress wages and only reduce illegal crossings by 25 percent,\u201d Cochran said.  \u00a0  \u201cThe debate on this legislation has not resulted in changes that would guarantee to the people of my state that America\u2019s borders will be truly secured or that illegal entries into our nation will end.\u00a0 I cannot support this bill,\u201d he said.\r\n\u201cThe United States needs to improve its immigration policies and consistently enforce laws already on the books.\u00a0 I believe our nation would be more secure and better able to enjoy the benefits of welcoming new citizens if the Senate had focused first on securing the border and fixing flaws in legal immigration programs,\u201d he said.\r\nDuring the three-week debate on S.744, Cochran voted against the motion to proceed to the bill and consistently voted against tabling amendments to strengthen border security.\u00a0 The Senator cosponsored amendments to make certain visa programs more efficient and effective.\u00a0 In the end, however, the bill the Senate approved does not contain important reforms related to agriculture worker programs, and it does not fully reform the system employers use to verify the legal status of workers before hiring them.\u00a0\r\nCochran has consistently supported increased border security funding as a member of the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, in addition to supporting guest worker policy improvements that would benefit agriculture, seafood and other industries in Mississippi and the nation.\u00a0 Cochran opposed inadequate immigration reform efforts in 1986 and 2007.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.cochran.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-releases?ContentRecord_id=5cfd379d-348d-4af9-b733-01fd385b9b01"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.601031981408596, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}