Did Jon Tester Vote for Amnesty for Immigrants Convicted of Crimes? Does He Vote in Lockstep with Biden?

You be the judge

By Denise Rivette

This information is presented to help voters decide for themselves how they will vote this November. If you have campaign claims you would like researched, please contact Montana Independent News. All credible information found will be reported so voters can make their own informed choices at the ballot box.

In this year’s race to elect a U.S. Senator to represent Montana, there have been many advertisements by the candidates and political action commmittees (PACs) across all media making claims about their opponents. The visual ads often have small print at the bottom providing the source of their information. Voters rarely check those sources, which are often fleeting (in the case of television ads and billboards) and in tiny print.

The One Nation advertisement sent by text this morning fits into that category. It claims that Tester voted for amnesty for 11 million illegal immigrants, even those who had been convicted of domestic violence and child abuse. It referenced two votes and a newspaper article. The two votes are easy to find on the Senate’s website.

The two votes referenced in the footnotes in the above graphic, Vote 159 and Vote 168, were cast in 2013. Vote 159 was a vote to table a single amendment (one of 544 proposed amendments) to Senate Bill 744. Vote 168 was the passage of Senate Bill 744 sponsored by Senator Chuck Schumer and co-sponsored by Senators Lindsey Graham and Marco Rubio, among others.

Senate Bill 744 is entitled Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act. Even the summary, prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS), is quite lengthy. Section 2 of the bill as passed is presented below:

SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The passage of this Act recognizes that the primary 
        tenets of its success depend on securing the sovereignty of the 
        United States of America and establishing a coherent and just 
        system for integrating those who seek to join American society.
            (2) We have a right, and duty, to maintain and secure our 
        borders, and to keep our country safe and prosperous. As a 
        Nation founded, built and sustained by immigrants we also have 
        a responsibility to harness the power of that tradition in a 
        balanced way that secures a more prosperous future for America.
            (3) We have always welcomed newcomers to the United States 
        and will continue to do so. But in order to qualify for the 
        honor and privilege of eventual citizenship, our laws must be 
        followed. The world depends on America to be strong--
        economically, militarily and ethically. The establishment of a 
        stable, just, and efficient immigration system only supports 
        those goals. As a Nation, we have the right and responsibility 
        to make our borders safe, to establish clear and just rules for 
        seeking citizenship, to control the flow of legal immigration, 
        and to eliminate illegal immigration, which in some cases has 
        become a threat to our national security.
            (4) All parts of this Act are premised on the right and 
        need of the United States to achieve these goals, and to 
        protect its borders and maintain its sovereignty.

The entire bill as passed can be found HERE.

Among the provisions of Bill 744, as summarized by the CRS, is a provision that “Prohibits the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) (Secretary) from processing applications for registered provisional immigrant status (RPI), as established by this Act, until the Secretary has submitted to Congress the notice of commencement of implementation of the Comprehensive Southern Border Security Strategy and the Southern Border Fencing Strategy.” It further “Authorizes the Secretary to waive legal requirements necessary to ensure construction of the physical infrastructure pursuant to this section.” I found no references to amnesty for criminals, but admit that I only speed-read the lengthy summary.

For the last two years, I have been researching incumbent Senator Jon Tester’s record as conflicting information about his voting record while representing Montanans have circulated. Based on his voting record and his public statements, he has consistently championed border security at both our southern and northern borders since he was first elected in 2006.

Another widespread claim is that Tester votes with Biden over 90% of the time. While I haven’t tallied up the Senate votes while Tester and Biden served together in the Senate, I did tally up the votes of Senators Daines and Tester for 2023. The results are presented below:

There were a total of 352 votes in the Senate last year. 235 were votes on personnel appointments. The 117 votes that were non-personnel were either “agreed to,” “passed” or “rejected”. Of those 117 votes, on 65 (55.56%) votes Daines and Tester voted the same way. Of the 57 votes that were “agreed to” or “passed,” thereby moving legislation forward, Daines and Tester voted the same way 48 times or 84.21% of the time.

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If you see or hear campaign claims you would like researched, please contact Montana Independent News through the Substack messaging system. All credible information found will be presented.