Opponents of fair and humane immigration reform stymied the Senate's efforts to pass comprehensive immigration reform in June 2007, blocking an effort to wrap up debate on the bill and bring it to a final vote.

The Senate bill was deeply flawed, but represented the best opportunity for years to enact reform. The National Immigrant Justice Center expressed reservations when the legislation was first unveiled by the so-called "Grand Bargainers," a bipartisan group of Senators working with the support of the White House to craft a compromise package. The bill did not uphold basic fairness and due process under law, nor did it honor the American tradition of keeping families together. Nevertheless, some positive amendments and other legislation should be revived as stand-alone bills. These measures include:

Secure and Safe Detention and Asylum Act

DREAM Act

Citizenship Promotion Act

Unaccompanied Alien Child Protection Act

Other proposed immigration legislation:

Secure America with Immigration and Enforcement (SAVE Act) - H.R. 4088 (November 2007)

More on the 2007 fight for immigration reform:

Immigration Reform: Failures and Prospects, by NIJC Director of Policy Tara Magner in the September 2007 MIT Center for International Studies Audit of Conventional Wisdom

Immigration Enforcement and Border Security Act of 2007 (Introduced by Senator Kyl in September 2007)