The Gang bill would require that those employers who hire the most foreign guest workers consider Americans first. But it would exempt companies that are not “dependent” on skilled foreign guest workers. That’s a lot of employers, and for them having guest workers can be a real advantage. “The guest workers are just that — guests — and they tend to accept slightly less pay, work more hours, are less likely to ask for a promotion or a raise,” notes one Senate aide.

So Brown and Grassley, along with Sessions and Manchin, sought to close the loophole that allowed companies that were not “dependent” on skilled guest workers to hire a foreign worker before offering a job to an American. Their amendment was very brief…

Schumer and Reid killed it, never allowing it to receive a vote. Instead, they sought to pacify liberal Democrats by allowing a stimulus-style youth jobs program amendment offered by Democratic Sen. Bernie Sanders into the bill instead. Americans who apply for jobs at companies that hire foreign guest workers but are not “dependent” on them are out of luck. That is the way immigration reform works in the Gang of Eight’s world.