Reid gives immigration deal more time

The Senate’s bipartisan team of immigration negotiators won a second surprise reprieve late Tuesday night, as Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) agreed to put off a decisive procedural vote until next week.

{mosads}Reid took to the floor to undo his previous vow that a vote to proceed to last year’s immigration bill would occur today, regardless of whether the handful of senators locked in immigration talks had achieved a deal. Significant sticking points remain, chiefly related to a proposed three-year temporary worker program, but Reid described an agreement as “80 percent of the way there.”

The vote to take up last year’s immigration bill — or a substitute amendment reflecting the results of the intense immigration talks — is now set for Monday. Meanwhile, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) told reporters Tuesday that his chamber will take up immigration reform in July, irrespective of the Senate negotiators’ success.