--- title: As Time Runs Out, Congress Is Gridlocked on Immigration Reform description: Republicans in the Senate stymied the bill that would have allotted $2.7 billion to resolving the issue of young illegal immigrants canonical: https://time.com/3069047/as-time-runs-out-congress-is-gridlocked-on-immigration-reform/ author: Nash Jenkins article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-08-01T08:27:27.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T09:27:30.135Z article:section: Politics og:title: As Time Runs Out, Congress Is Gridlocked on Immigration Reform og:description: Republicans in the Senate stymied the bill that would have allotted $2.7 billion to resolving the issue of young illegal immigrants og:url: https://time.com/3069047/as-time-runs-out-congress-is-gridlocked-on-immigration-reform/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltda1c8ffed282e04b/69869e11e8524b6ccb60422c/aptopix-congress_wong.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: John Boehner og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: As Time Runs Out, Congress Is Gridlocked on Immigration Reform twitter:description: Republicans in the Senate stymied the bill that would have allotted $2.7 billion to resolving the issue of young illegal immigrants twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltda1c8ffed282e04b/69869e11e8524b6ccb60422c/aptopix-congress_wong.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # As Time Runs Out, Congress Is Gridlocked on Immigration Reform ## Video: The Immigration Crisis [Watch (HLS stream): The Immigration Crisis](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ba7H8axK.m3u8) (2:06)  _Published 2014-07-26. White House and Congress struggle to address border crisis_ by [Nash Jenkins](https://time.com/author/p-nash-jenkins/) ## Nash Jenkins Aug 1, 2014 8:27 AM UTC  House Speaker John Boehner, center, walks to the House chamber on Capitol Hill on July 31, 2014 House Speaker John Boehner, center, walks to the House chamber on Capitol Hill on July 31, 2014J. Scott Applewhite—AP by [Nash Jenkins](https://time.com/author/p-nash-jenkins/) ## Nash Jenkins Aug 1, 2014 8:27 AM UTC On Thursday, Republicans in the Senate stymied the bill that would have allotted $2.7 billion to [resolving the issue of Central American minors](http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2014/07/senate-republicans-block-2-7-billion-border-funding-bill/) illegally crossing the border into the U.S., which many politicians have deemed a national crisis. The bill received 50 yeas and 44 nays, falling short of the 60 it needed in order to end up on President Barack Obama’s desk. In July, Obama had asked legislators for a comprehensive emergency plan dedicated to resolving the immigration issue. Republicans, [according to a CNN report](http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/31/politics/congress-immigration/index.html), took issue with the legislation’s dearth of provisions concerning the deportation of illegal immigrants. A bloc of far-right Congressmen within the party also [managed to successfully suspend the vote](http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/house-gop-leaders-spike-border-bill-rather-than-see-it-defeated/2014/07/31/1b720ff2-18e0-11e4-9e3b-7f2f110c6265%5Fstory.html) on a bill in the House of Representatives intended to facilitate the deportation process, deeming the legislation too moderate. The squabbling has [forced the House](http://www.politico.com/story/2014/07/house-gop-no-vote-border-bill-109599.html?ml=tb) to delay its August recess by one day. Not all was gridlocked in Congress, though. The Senate voted almost unanimously in favor of a bill that will [provide the Department of Veterans Affairs](http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/senate-passes-va-transportation-bills-on-eve-of-summer-recess/2014/07/31/9c656a50-1908-11e4-9349-84d4a85be981%5Fstory.html) with over $16 billion to address some issues concerning health care services for veterans, including reduction of delays and the hiring of more doctors. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3069047/as-time-runs-out-congress-is-gridlocked-on-immigration-reform/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3069047/as-time-runs-out-congress-is-gridlocked-on-immigration-reform/"},"headline":"As Time Runs Out, Congress Is Gridlocked on Immigration Reform","datePublished":"2014-08-01T08:27:27.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T09:27:30.135Z","description":"The House of Representatives has consequently had to delay its recess by a day","url":"https://time.com/3069047/as-time-runs-out-congress-is-gridlocked-on-immigration-reform/","keywords":["Congress","republicans","Veterans","Immigration","gridlock","ted cruz"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltda1c8ffed282e04b/69869e11e8524b6ccb60422c/aptopix-congress_wong.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nash Jenkins","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/p-nash-jenkins/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltda1c8ffed282e04b/69869e11e8524b6ccb60422c/aptopix-congress_wong.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"John Boehner","caption":"John Boehner","creditText":"J. 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