Today, Michigan Democratic Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow split on a procedural vote on the Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill before the Senate, effectively killing the measure. A motion to end debate on the bill--a necessary step to advance it in the Senate--failed by a vote of 46 to 53. Several Democrats, including Debbie Stabenow voted against ending the debate, guaranteeing that the vote would fall short of the 60 needed to end debate. Several Democrats expressed concern over amendments and consequently decided against allowing the process to move forward. For her part, Stabenow has not yet issued a statement explaining her vote.

Senator Levin voted to end the debate, arguing in his floor statement that "our immigration system is broken and needs reform" and that the bill was an opportunity to "make progress on a very difficult problem." Levin also expressed support for the border security measures in the bill arguing that strong security measures must be included in the bill. Levin was frustrated that the bill did not move further, stating that due to filibusters the Senate was never able to fully consider the bill, nor were they allowed to address the amendments individually.

The bill had received a mix of support and criticism from immigrant rights activists, with some welcoming it as a less than perfect step in the right direction while others derided its guest worker provision as being "close to slavery." Critics on the right described the bill as an "amnesty" measure that would give rights to "millions of illegals" and used xenophobic rhetoric to mobilize people against the bill.