Rand Paul Touts Toughened Immigration Bill

He wants more border-control added

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) will push to strengthen the border security requirements in the immigration bill unveiled Wednesday by the Gang of 8.

He still wants to read the 844-page draft legislation, but he said he is likely to propose three or four amendments.

One would force Congress to vote on an annual border security report that would include statistics on how many people illegally enter the country.

Paul cited lingering conservative ire with the lack of beefed-up enforcement after Ronald Reagan signed off on amnesty in 1986. The libertarian leader calls his proposal "trust but verify" after the Russian proverb Reagan regularly cited when discussing arms control.

The likely 2016 presidential candidate told reporters at a breakfast hosted by the Christian Science Monitor that he is part of a sizable block of conservatives who will vote for a bill if there's enough border security guarantees. He thinks it will be bad for the country if a comprehensive measure passes both chambers with only the bare minimum of GOP votes.