The bipartisan immigration reform bill has passed the Senate Judiciary Committee and will be taken up by the full Senate sometime this summer. Due to the diligence, and some would say stubbornness, of the Gang of Eight, the bill remains in more of less the same form as when it entered committee.

Members of the Gang of Eight on both sides of the aisle joined forces to repel amendments from both parties that could have jeopardized the bill's passage, even if individual members of the gang would ordinarily have voted for that particular amendment.

Republican Chuck Grassley of Iowa proposed an amendment to the bill that would have required the border to be completely secure for six months before any undocumented immigrants could apply for American citizenship, a requirement vague and unrealistic enough to effectively scrap the entire bill.

Mike Lee of Utah introduced an amendment that would have delegated the responsibility for determining the security of the border to Congress. The Republican majority in the House of Representatives guarantees the border would never be certified secure, whatever the situation on the ground.

Ted Cruz of Texas tried to require a tripling of border control agents and a quadrupling of equipment on the border, despite the usual Republican calls for fiscal responsibility. Jeff Sessions of Alabama proposed 700 miles of additional fencing on the border.

Those amendments were defeated, as were additional attempts by Republicans to make the requirements of the bill too onerous to be practical, thanks to the combined efforts of the Democrats on the committee, joined by Republicans Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Jess Flake of Arizona, both members of the Gang of Eight.

When Democrats tried to add protections for same-sex partners of American citizens and residents, gang members reluctantly voted down the measure so as not to force their Republican partners to break the truce.

Advocates for LGBT rights had hoped Democrats would amend the immigration bill to include protections for same-sex couples, but those hopes were dashed. Democrats spoke of making the wrenching decision, weighing the rights of same-sex couples against the likelihood that Republicans will shoot down the bill if the amendment passed.

"This is one of the most excruciatingly difficult decisions I've had to make in 30-plus years in public office. I believe and desire that this is included in the final legislation. Not to do this is rank discrimination," said Democratic Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York. He blamed Republicans for holding the bill hostage. "They've made it perfectly clear in plain words and on multiple occasions that if this provision is added to the bill they will have no choice but to abandon our collective effort, and a once-in-a-generation effort to pass comprehensive immigration reform will be finished."

Still, the immigration reform bill is intact and headed to the full Senate, which was the main goal of the Gang of Eight in the first place.

All of the rejected amendments will be able to be reintroduced there, where the eight members of the gang will have much less sway. And if the bill survives, it faces an even greater challenge in the Republican-led House of Representatives, where some Tea Party members have vowed to oppose it at all costs.