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*Tough road for immigration bill*
By: Josh Gerstein
December 15, 2009 05:10 AM EST
Immigration reform advocates are launching a concerted drive this week
to make sure their issue doesn't get the election-year sidestep from
Congress and a White House already wrestling with complex and
far-reaching legislation on health care, climate change and regulating
Wall Street.
Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) and more than 20 other Democratic House
members are scheduled to introduce legislation Tuesday that would allow
millions of illegal immigrants to legalize their status in the United
States.
"We have waited patiently for a workable solution to our immigration
crisis to be taken up by this Congress and our president," Gutierrez
said in a statement previewing the announcement. "The time for waiting
is over. This bill will be presented before Congress recesses for the
holidays so that there is no excuse for inaction in the new year."
Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) are expected to
introduce an immigration bill in their chamber early next year.
Advocates want the Judiciary Committee to take up the issue by February.
"In terms of the Senate, the Judiciary Committee is not dealing with
climate or financial regs," said Ali Noorani of the National Immigration
Forum. "You could have a floor debate later in the spring. ... It's also
something that has bipartisan support, as opposed to anything they're
talking about now."
However, some congressional analysts see rough sailing ahead for the
legislative effort on immigration, particularly as midterm elections
approach.
"They can introduce the bill, but it's going to have a very difficult
time with all of the other agenda items," said James Thurber, director
of American University's Center for Congressional and Presidential
Studies. "We have lots of Democratic seats in trouble in the House, and
this particular issue is an issue that doesn't play very well in some of
those Blue Dog districts. I think the leadership will be very careful
about pushing it, and the president will also."
A representative for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said he
hopes the Senate can take up the issue "in the first half of next year."
During a trip to Mexico in August, President Barack Obama said he was
"confident" Congress would ultimately pass an immigration overhaul, but
he indicated action on such legislation would have to wait for lawmakers
to complete their work on health care, energy and regulating the
financial markets.
"That's a pretty big stack of bills," the president noted. "When we come
back next year, we should be in a position to start acting [on
immigration]. Now, am I in a position to snap my fingers and get this
done? No. This is going to be difficult."
Since that time, health care reform legislation has slipped past a
couple of deadlines imposed by Obama. And while the severe recession
turned attention away from immigration reform, the relentless focus
congressional leaders are now promising on job creation could actually
undercut support for legalization of illegal immigrants.
"At a time where the unemployment rate is 10 percent, I believe it's not
responsible to invite or allow illegal workers to take jobs that should
be available to American citizens and legal immigrants," Sen. Jeff
Sessions (R-Ala.) said last week.
When the last major push for immigration reform died in the Senate in
June 2007, the unemployment rate stood at 4.6 percent, according to the
Labor Department. Now it's more than double that.
"In my opinion, [reform] will be even more unpopular than last time,"
Thurber said. He called arguments that legalization will benefit the
economy "very hard" to make. "People don't see it."
However, immigration reform proponents insist they can overcome any new
resistance created by increased unemployment and the perception that
illegal immigrants take jobs from Americans.
"It will certainly confuse the debate a lot more, but at the end of the
day, what we have to understand is that fixing this system will be good
for American workers," Eliseo Medina, executive vice president of the
Service Employees International Union, said in a conference call with
reporters Monday.
"If you have a situation where you have an unemployed auto worker in
Detroit, it's unlikely that that worker is going to move across the
country to take a job at minimum wage somewhere where an immigrant was
fired. It's just not going to happen. That's not reality," Medina said.
"But if we wind up in a situation where we legalize everyone and we take
away this profit motive of some of these bottom-feeding employers who
hire undocumented workers, I think standards are going to improve for
everyone. That's the argument that we're going to be making to the
Congress."
While Gutierrez has repeatedly expressed impatience with the White
House's restrained approach to immigration reform, his action Tuesday
can be seen as fulfilling Obama's promise to begin a debate on the issue
this year. Obama aides said they welcomed the move but declined to
commit to the specifics of the House Democrats' plan.
"We welcome any constructive contribution to this important debate," one
White House official said.
Aides said they did not know of any events or interviews Obama planned
to mark the bill's introduction. However, officials noted that Homeland
Security Secretary Janet Napolitano recently made a speech outlining the
administration's commitment to reform. In addition, Labor Secretary
Hilda Solis and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke are expected to address
the issue in speeches on Wednesday.
"The most important thing that can be done is that Cabinet secretaries,
whose time sheets are signed by the president, start getting out there
and talking about the need for reform," Noorani said. "While the
president is appropriately focused on the economy and health care, his
key Cabinet leadership is setting the table for immigration reform by
doing these kinds of things."
© 2009 Capitol News Company, LLC
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