In the backdrop of the aftermath of the arrest of one of two immigrants suspected of the Boston Marathon bombings, the first Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the proposed immigration reform bill Monday was filled with arguments from both sides on whether the bill should be passed at this time.
The hearings on Monday were the backdrop for some tense exchanges between two sides regarding a bill that would create a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants while strengthening the nation's borders and requiring businesses to check the immigration status of workers.
As the New York Times reports, the session featured testimony from 23 people over several facets of the bill, including questioning whether the bill could be done in separate pieces without a pathway to citizenship.
One of the sharpest debates involved the recent Boston Marathon bombings, in which two Chechen sibling immigrants, one of whom died in a shootout with police and the other arrested last week. Prominent members of the GOP have come forward to urge that the bill be delayed until more information can be found about the bombers and regarding questions on the bill's safety provisions, as well.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., on Monday, in an about-face on his previous support of the bill, called for legislators to hold off on passing the bill until it could be determined if system failures were responsible for helping the two men in their accused crimes.
Any bill must "prevent immigrants with malicious intent from using our immigration system" to mount future attacks, Sen. Rand wrote in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, as the New York Daily News reports.
However, supporters of the bill took exception to that idea, Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, D-Vt., among them. Sen. Leahy accused conservative commentators and legislators suggesting that the bill be delayed due to the bombings as using the incidents as an excuse not to pass immigration reform.
"Last week, opponents of comprehensive immigration reform began to exploit the Boston Marathon bombing," Sen. Leahy said, as reported by the New York Times. "Let no one be so cruel as to try to use the heinous acts of these two young men last week to derail the dreams and futures of millions of hard-working people."
Tensions particularly rose high at the meeting during an exchange between "Gang of Eight" member Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Charles E. Grassley, R-Iowa, regarding Sen. Grassley's comments last Friday that the bill should not be rushed due to the Boston bombings.
Sen. Schumer said that some of his fellow legislators "are pointing to what happened, the terrible tragedy in Boston, as, I would say, an excuse for not doing a bill or delaying it many months or years."
"I never said that!" said Sen. Grassley as the exchange grew heated. "I never said that!"
"I don't mean you, Mr. Grassley," Mr. Schumer replied.
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