WASHINGTON — A standoff in the Senate on Wednesday seemed to doom $3 billion in widely backed funds aimed at gaining control over the porous U.S.-Mexican border.
It started with an end-run by Republicans to pass some of the most popular elements of President Bush’s failed immigration bill, including a plan to increase security along the southern border.
Democrats liked the money but objected to such GOP proposals as allowing law enforcement officers to question people about their immigration status and cracking down on those who overstay their visas.
Border security push fails in Senate
Guard numbers on border to be halved Support mission to end entirely by Sept. 2008
