The Senate voted down an amendment to the much-maligned immigration bill that would have required adult illegals to return home before being able “to qualify for permanent lawful status” in the US.
The vote was 53-45 to table an amendment by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, that was one of several proposals designed to respond to conservatives who decry President Bush’s immigration bill as a form of amnesty.
Per McQ in the comments, there are other “Touchback” provisions being debated, so “touchback” is still a live issue.
Trust me, I’m not an advocate for this bill, but just to be clear, the Hutchison amendment required the entire family to “touchback” while other amendments only require the head of the household to do the touchback. So touchback, per se, isn’t dead, just this particular version of it.