On June 27, 2013, the Senate passed S. 744, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act. The measure passed 68-32, with 52 Democrats, 14 Republicans and two independents voting in favor.
It provided broad authority for reinforcing physical barriers on the southern border, authorized the Border Patrol to double in size (up to 40,000 agents), strengthened laws preventing employers from hiring illegal immigrants, strengthened protections against people overstaying their visa visit limitations, provided a pathway to citizenship under special circumstances for people in the country illegally and streamlined processes for handling immigrants and refugees. The law also required the Secretary of Homeland Security to submit a comprehensive Southern Border Security Strategy and Southern Border Fencing Strategy.