Immigration repeal halted in US Senate amid funding fight

WASHINGTON D.C.: US Senate Democrats blocked a controversial bill on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila) that would fund homeland security but derail President Barack Obama's immigration plan, plunging Congress into an impasse as a funding deadline looms.

In December, lawmakers funded all federal departments through the end of fiscal year 2015 except for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which it funded only through February 27 so the new Republican-controlled Congress could put brakes on Obama's plan to shield millions of undocumented workers from deportation.