Alan Simpson, an old school moderate Republican senator who helped craft major U.S. immigration reform in 1986 and made friends across the aisle, died on Friday in Cody, Wyoming, his family said in a statement.

Former US Senator Alan Simpson, a prominent Wyoming Republican known for his sharp wit and bipartisan approach, has died at 93. Simpson, who served three terms in the Senate from 1979 to 1997, was a key figure in rallying GOP senators during Ronald Reagan's presidency.

Pushing the 1986 immigration reform bill through Congress — his major legislative accomplishment — was like “giving dry birth to a porcupine,” he quipped.