Heller votes against tying Homeland Security funding to immigration battle

WASHINGTON — Sen. Dean Heller cast a lone protest vote Tuesday, saying a fight over Homeland Security funding only is making it harder for Congress to find a solution on immigration reform.

The Nevadan was the only GOP senator to join with Democrats in blocking the Senate from moving forward on a Republican bill that ties funding for the Department of Homeland Security with restrictions on President Barack Obama’s executive orders broadening protections for undocumented immigrants.

The procedural vote was 51-48, short of the 60 needed to begin debate on the bill, causing Republican leaders to regroup.

Heller said afterward that he opposed Obama’s executive actions. But he said far from clarity, the legislation was making it more difficult to resolve immigration.

“I didn’t and don’t support the president’s executive order,” Heller said in a statement. But he added, “Instead of addressing the issue of immigration reform comprehensively, the bill before us today only includes language that complicates the process of finding a solution.

“Until the Administration comes to the table with Congressional leadership to craft a viable path forward for both the Department of Homeland Security and comprehensive immigration reform, my stance will remain the same,” Heller said.

Democrats said they will continue to hold fast against the bill, which passed the House last month. It contains $40 billion to continue operating the Department of Homeland Security, whose funding expires at the end of February.

At the same time, it would bar the department from carrying out Obama executive orders expected to shield from deportation up to 4.4 million immigrants in the county illegally.

Obama has said he would veto the bill if it reached his desk.

Failure to reach agreement by the end of the month could technically shut down the department, although many people in the key security agency would continue working albeit without assurance of being paid.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., criticized the Democrats’ move to block the bill.

“The way to change the bill is to get on the bill and offer amendments to it,” he said. “It’s an absurd position to say we object to the bill but don’t want to debate the bill to change it.”

Republicans have charged Obama’s actions exceeded his authority and that he skirted Congress to take unilateral action on immigration. The GOP-controlled House passed the Homeland Security bill 236-191. Republicans hold a 54-46 majority in the Senate.

The 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program has granted temporary work permits for young immigrants in the country illegally, including 11,000 applications by Nevadans approved for processing.

A follow-up program Obama announced in Las Vegas last November would extend the same benefit to qualifying undocumented parents of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents. About 53,000 people in Nevada might qualify, according to the Center for American Progress.

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., the Senate minority leader, said Democrats will continue to insist that Republicans take up a “clean” bill that would fund the Department of Homeland Security without the immigration riders.

“If my colleagues want to fix our broken immigration system, we are happy to have a debate,” Reid said. “But we should not put our national security at risk in the meantime.”

Representing a state where 26.5 percent of constituents are Latinos, Heller has sought a careful position on immigration.

He was one of 14 GOP senators to vote for a comprehensive reform bill the Senate passed in 2013, after taking part in negotiations over the bill.

Heller’s vote on Tuesday drew praise from the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, a leading immigration advocacy group in the state.

“We’re thankful that Sen. Heller stood against his own party’s partisan political games, and we hope he continues to urge his colleagues to drop their attacks on immigrant families by moving forward with a clean DHS bill, and by focusing on finding a permanent solution to our broken immigration system,” said Laura Martin, the group’s communications director.

“I’ve been adamant about this from day one: Leaders in Washington need to address the issue of comprehensive immigration reform,” Heller said.

“We have a broken immigration system that must be fixed. I want to solve the issue.”

Contact Stephens Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at stetreault@stephensmedia.com or 202-783-1760. Find him on Twitter: @STetreaultDC.