2006: Voted on Senate floor in favor of S. 2611 to increase chain migration Sen. Nelson voted in favor of final passage of S. 2611 (whose main sponsor was Sen. Arlen Specter [D-Pa.]), a bill to increase chain migration through an annual increase in the family-preference visa cap of 254,000. In addition, S. 2611 includes a one-time-only permanent increase of 105,660 visas for exempt family of unused employment-based visa holders between 2001-2005. S. 2611 passed by a vote of 62 to 36 on May 25

2006: Voted for an increase in chain migration.
Sen. Nelson voted in favor of a motion to invoke cloture on S. 2611, which limited debate on the bill to increase chain migration through an annual increase in the family-preference visa cap of 254,000. In addition, S. 2611 includes a one-time-only permanent increase of 105,660 visas for exempt family of unused employment-based visa holders between 2001-2005. A vote to invoke cloture is essentially a vote for the bill. The motion to invoke cloture passed by a vote of 73 to 25.

2006: Voted against procedural move to increase chain migration Sen. Nelson voted against cloture on SA 3424, a compromise amnesty proposal by Sens. Hagel (R-Neb.) and Martinez (R-Fla.). The purpose of voting against allowing a final vote on this proposal varied from Senator to Senator

2006: Voted in favor of a bill that rewarded illegal aliens with amnesty.
Sen. Nelson voted in favor of final passage of S. 2611, which includes an amnesty (both immediate and deferred) for 10.2 million illegal aliens (6.7 million illegal alien workers and 3.5 million illegal alien spouses and/children). S. 2611 passed by a vote of 62 to 36.

2006: Voted for an amendment to cap employment-based visas.
Sen. Nelson voted in favor of the Bingaman Amendment to S. 2611, which caps the number of employment-based visas for workers, spouses and children at 650,000. Robert Rector of the Heritage Foundation estimates that the Bingaman Amendment would reduce employment-based visas available under S. 2611 by about 150,000 a year. The Bingaman Amendment passed by a vote of 51 to 47.

2006: Voted for an amendment to limit a proposed guestworker program.
Sen. Nelson voted in favor of the Dorgan Amendment to S. 2611, which limits the proposed H-2C guestworker program to five years instead of 10 years. This would have reduced the number of new guestworkers under S. 2611 from two million to one million (200,000 per year for five years instead of 10 years). The Dorgan Amendment failed by a vote of 48 to 49.

2006: Voted for increasing foreign worker visas.
Sen. Nelson voted in favor of a motion to invoke cloture on S. 2611, which would have limited debate on the bill to increase foreign worker importation by approximately 600,000 visas per year. A vote to invoke cloture is essentially a vote for the bill. The motion to invoke cloture passed by a vote of 73 to 25.

2006: Voted against an amendment that increases guestworker visas.
Sen. Nelson voted against the Hutchison Amendment to S. 2611, which creates a Secure Authorized Foreign Employee (SAFE) visa for nationals of a NAFTA or CAFTA. Its effect would have been to create an unnecessary guestworker visa category. The Hutchison Amendment failed by a vote of 31 to 67.

2006: Voted to increase greencards for foreign workers.
Sen. Nelson voted in favor of a motion to table the Kyl amendment (SA 3969) to S. 2611. The Kyl amendment would have prevented 200,000 guestworkers a year from adjusting to lawful permanent resident status on the basis of their status as a guestworker. This would have resulted in 2 million less greencards over a decade. The motion to table the Kyl amendment passed by a vote of 58 to 35, effectively killing the amendment.

2006: Voted for an amendment to weaken worker protections.
Sen. Nelson voted in favor of the Kennedy amendment (SA 4066) to S. 2611. The Kennedy amendment weakens Sen. Cornyns amendment (SA 3965) by not requiring Federal certification of the employers need to import foreign workers. The Kennedy amendment passed by a vote of 56 to 43.

2006: Voted against an amendment to increase worker protections.
Sen. Nelson voted against the Cornyn amendment (SA 3965) to S. 2611, which provides modest protections to American workers by requiring employers to employ aliens in the position they were hired for and requiring DHS to certify that there is, in fact, a labor shortage in that particular field before visas are made available. The Cornyn amendment passed by a vote of 50 to 48.

2006: Voted against killing an amendment that would cap guestworker visas.
Sen. Nelson voted against a motion to table the Bingaman Amendment (SA 3981) to S. 2611. The Bingaman Amendment would cap the number of H-2C visas available annually for issuance at 200,000 and remove the 20%-a-year increase in annual guestworker visas. This would reduce the 10-year increase in foreign workers and their dependents from 8.4 million, as provided in the original bill, to two million. The motion to table the Bingaman amendment failed by a vote of 18 to 79 and the Bingaman amendment ultimately passed by voice vote.

2006: Voted to kill an amendment that would strike guestworker provisions.
Sen. Nelson voted in favor of a motion to table the Dorgan Amendment (SA 4017) to S. 2611. The Dorgan amendment would have stricken the guestworker provisions of the bill that would add an estimated 8.4 million foreign workers and their dependents over the next ten years (according to a May, 2006 study by the Heritage Foundations Robert Rector). The motion to table passed by a voted of 68 to 29, effectively killing the Dorgan amendment.

2006: Voted against procedural move to increase foreign worker importation Sen. Nelson voted against cloture on SA 3424, a compromise amnesty proposal by Sens. Hagel (R-Neb.) and Martinez (R-Fla.). The purpose of voting against allowing a final vote on this proposal varied from Senator to Senator

2005-2006: Voted against Byrd Amendment that would prevent additional foreign-worker importation
Sen. Nelson voted against the Byrd Amendment to the Budget Reconciliation bill. The Byrd Amendment would have stripped a provision to increase permanent, employement-based immigration by as many as 366,000 annually. The Byrd Amendment, sponsored by Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), failed by a vote of 14 to 85 on November 3, 2005 (2:16 PM).

2005-2006: Voted against CAFTA, foreign worker importation program (Grassley)
Sen. Nelson voted against S. 1307, the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (CAFTA). It is expected that CAFTA would create the expectation of immigration and lead to an increase in illegal immigration. S. 1307, sponsored by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), passed by a vote of 54 to 45 on June 30, 2005.

2005-2006: Voted against amendment (Mikulski) that would increase low-skill, foreign-worker importation
Sen. Nelson was one of only six Senators to vote against an amendment to the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Tsunami Relief, 2005. The Mikulski amendment, sponsored by Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), increases the number of H-2B visas for low-skill, temporary, foreign workers from 66,000 to possibly as many as three times the number each year.

2006: Voted on Senate floor in favor of S. 2611 to reward illegal aliens with amnesty Sen. Nelson voted in favor of final passage of S. 2611 (whose main sponsor was Sen. Arlen Specter [D-Pa.]) which includes an amnesty (both immediate and deferred) for 10.2 million illegal aliens (6.7 million illegal alien workers and 3.5 million illegal alien spouses and/children). S. 2611 passed by a vote of 62 to 36 on May 25, 2006 (5:39 PM).

2006: Voted for amnesty for illegal aliens.
Sen. Nelson voted in favor of a motion to invoke cloture on S. 2611, which includes an amnesty (both immediate and deferred) for 10.2 million illegal aliens (6.7 million illegal alien workers and 3.5 million illegal alien spouses and/children). A vote to invoke cloture is essentially a vote for the bill. The motion to invoke cloture passed by a vote of 73 to 25.

2006: Voted against amendment to reward 2 million illegal aliens with amnesty Sen. Nelson voted against the Feinstein Amendment to S. 2611 (whose main sponsor was Sen. Arlen Specter [D-Pa.]) to create an orange card that would allow an estimated two million illegal aliens to pay a fine. The amendment failed by a vote of 37 to 61.

2006: Voted against an amendment to end amnesty provisions.
Sen. Nelson voted against the Vitter amendment (SA 3963) to S. 2611, which removes provisions authorizing the earned legalization and agricultural worker amnesty schemes that would grant amnesty to an estimated 16 million illegal aliens and their families (according to a May, 2006 study by the Heritage Foundations Robert Rector). The Vitter amendment failed by a vote of 33 to 66.

2006: Voted against an amendment that postpones amnesty.
Sen. Nelson voted against the Cornyn amendment to S. 2611 to prohibit DHS from implementing the amnesty provisions of S. 2611 unless the agency has certified that this bills border security measures are fully operational. The Cornyn Amendment failed by a vote of 40-55.

2006: Voted against procedural move to amnesty illegal aliens Sen. Nelson voted against cloture on SA 3424, a compromise amnesty proposal by Sens. Hagel (R-Neb.) and Martinez (R-Fla.). The purpose of voting against allowing a final vote on this proposal varied from Senator to Senator

2005-2006: Cosponsored a bill to reward illegal aliens with amnesty (Durbin).
S. 2075 would reward illegal aliens under the age of 21, who have been physically present in the country for five years and are in 7th grade or above, with amnesty. An estimated 500,000 to 600,000 illegal aliens would qualify for this amnesty. Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) was the main sponsor of this bill. The bill died in the Judiciary Committee.

2005-2006: Voted in favor of amnesty for agricultural workers
Sen. Nelson voted to invoke cloture, a procedural move requiring 60 votes to limit debate and ensure a vote on the AgJOBS amnesty amendment for up to 3 million illegal aliens, introduced by Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho), to the Iraq supplemental spending bill. The Senate voted 53 to 45 not to invoke cloture, effectively keeping the amnesty off of the final bill on April 19, 2005.

2005-2006: Cosponsored AgJobs to grant amnesty to illegal aliens (Craig)
Sen. Nelson was a cosponsor of S. 359 to encourage more illegal immigration by rewarding certain illegal aliens who work in agriculture with amnesty. Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) was the primary sponsor.

2006: Voted against killing an amendment to prevent Social Security for illegal aliens.
Sen. Nelson voted against a motion to table the Ensign amendment (SA 3985) to S. 2611. The Ensign amendment would have prohibited the payment of Social Security benefits for many illegal aliens. The motion to table the Ensign amendment passed by a vote of 50 to 49, effectively killing the amendment.

2005-2006: Cosponsored a bill to reward illegal aliens with in-state tuition (Durbin).
S. 2075 would have rewarded illegal aliens under the age of 21, who have been physically present in the country for five years and are in 7th grade or above, with in-state tuition rates at colleges and universities. Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) was the main sponsor of the bill. The bill died in the Judiciary Committee.

2005-2006: Voted to shield illegal aliens from prosecution for Social Security fraud
Sen. Nelson voted to invoke cloture, a procedural move requiring 60 votes to limit debate and ensure a vote on the AgJOBS amnesty amendment, introduced by Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho), to the Iraq supplemental spending bill. The Senate voted 53 to 45 not to invoke cloture, thus effectively keeping the amnesty, which would reward illegal immigration by protecting illegal aliens granted temporary resident status from prosecution for Social Security fraud off the final bill on April 19, 2005.

2005-2006: Cosponsored AgJobs to protect illegal aliens from prosecution (Craig)
Sen. Nelson was a cosponsor of S. 359 to reward illegal immigration by protecting illegal aliens granted temporary resident status from prosecution for Social Security fraud. Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) was the primary sponsor.

2006: Voted for a bill to create a border fence.
Sen. Nelson voted in favor of H.R. 6061 to create a 700-mile reinforced fence along the U.S.-Mexico border, and to provide for other barriers for border control. H.R. 6061 passed by a vote of 80-19.

2006: Voted for an amendment to fund a border fence.
Sen. Nelson voted in favor of the Sessions amendment to H.R. 5631, the Department of Defense Appropriations bill. The Sessions amendment would provide for $1.8 billion for the construction of 370 miles of border fencing and 461 miles of vehicle barriers along the southern border. The Sessions amendment passed by a vote of 94-3.

2006: Voted against an amendment to extend the border fence.
Sen. Nelson voted against the Sessions Amendment to H.R. 5441, the Homeland Security Appropriations bill. The Sessions Amendment would have added 370 miles of fence on the southwest border. The amendment failed by a vote of 29 to 71.

2006: Voted for an amendment that authorizes the National Guard to assist in border patrol efforts.
Sen. Nelson voted in favor of the Ensign Amendment to S. 2611, which authorizes the Governors of Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas to order their states National Guard units to assist the Border Patrol in their efforts. The Ensign Amendment passed by a vote of 83-10.

2006: Voted in favor of an amendment to create a border fence.
Sen. Nelson voted in favor of the Sessions amendment (SA 3979) to S. 2611, which calls for the construction of at least 370 miles of a border fence along the southwest border. The Sessions amendment passed by a vote of 83 to 16.

2005-2006: Voted against amendment (Ensign)to DHS appropriations bill to fund U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Sen. Nelson voted against the Ensign Amendment (SA 1219) to H.R. 2360 (Rogers), the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations bill. The Ensign Amendment transfers appropriated funds from the Office of State and Local Government Coordination and Preparedness to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection for the purpose of hiring 1,000 additional Border Patrol agents. The amendment, sponsored by Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.), failed by a vote of 38 to 60 on July 14, 2005 (10:04 AM).

2005-2006: Voted in favor of Byrd Amendment to fund additional Border Patrol agents
Sen. Nelson voted in favor of the Byrd Amendment to H.R. 1268 (an emergency supplemental spending bill) to provide funding to hire 650 more border patrol agents. The amendment, sponsored by Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), passed 65-34 on April 20, 2005 (3:18 PM).

2006: Voted for an amendment to fund immigration investigators.
Sen. Nelson voted in favor of the Sessions Amendment to H.R. 5411, the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations bill for 2007. The Sessions Amendment would have added $86 million for 800 additional staff to investigate immigration law violations. The amendment failed by a vote of 34 to 66.

2005-2006: Voted against an amendment to add detention beds to increase interior enforcement.
Sen. Nelson voted against the McCain amendment to H.R. 2360, the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act. The McCain amendment would have increased the number of detention beds to those called for in the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004. The McCain amendment failed by a vote of 42 to 56.

2005-2006: Voted in favor of Byrd Amendment to fund additional immigration investigators and agents
Sen. Nelson voted in favor of the Byrd Amendment to H.R. 1268 (an emergency supplemental spending bill) to provide funding to hire 250 new immigration investigators, and 168 new immigration enforcement agents and deportation officers. The Byrd amendment also provides funds for 2,000 additional detention beds as well as funding to train the new personnel. The amendment, sponsored by Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), passed 65-34 on April 20, 2005 (3:18 PM).