For Different Reasons, Bond & McCaskill Block Immigration Reform

It's over. The immigration bill is probably dead . . . until after the 2008 election.

Both Missouri Sens. Kit Bond and Claire McCaskill will get credit -- or blame -- for helping kill it.

The heart of the reform would have provided a path to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants.

Bond ended up opposing the bill because the legislation would allow illegal immigrants to become citizens.

McCaskill opposed the bill because it would expand the guest worker program.

"We need to do more to secure our borders, but we cannot be held hostage by those who want amnesty for illegal aliens," Bond said in a statement.

“This bill would legalize illegal immigrants who broke our laws and flaunted our rules," Bond said. "Unfortunately, my attempts to strike that legalization and cut their path to citizenship failed."

“The amnesty provisions and the $20 billion in new unfunded mandatory entitlement spending for illegal immigrants doomed this bill, and I was proud to oppose it," Bond said.