Asian Journal- The Filipino-American Community Newspaper

PRESIDENT Obama has postponed his plans to depart for his Holiday vacation in Hawaii, even if he must stay in the Capitol for Christmas Eve, until the Senate puts the finishing touches on the health care overhaul. With the Senate reaching a compromise last week to garner the full 60 votes needed to avoid any Republican-backed filibuster attempt, the Senate is set pass its version of the health care bill on Christmas Eve. With one of the major components of his campaign platform near completion, the Obama Administration is poised to tackle another – Immigration Reform – early in 2010.

Setting the stage for the next Congressional session, Representative Luis Gutierrez, a House Democrat from Obama’s home State of Illinois, introduced the "Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America’s Security and Prosperity Act (CIR ASAP) in the US House of Representatives. In keeping with the Obama Administration’s campaign promise to bring badly needed immigration law reform to the table early in its first term, the CIR ASAP proposes sweeping changes to the broken US immigration system that will help to protect the borders, protect US workers, unify families and legalize the status of millions of "undocumented" immigrants already in the US. Congress will likely move on the CIR ASAP very quickly, as the Act’s name alone reflects Congress’ recognition that change is needed urgently: CIR ASAP: "As Soon As Possible!"

Over the past 13 years since Congress passed the "Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA), a hastily passed and extremely damaging "immigration enforcement first" overhaul of the Immigration & Nationality Act (INA) little has been done to ameliorate its harsh effects. Families have been torn apart, employers have been forced to wait several years for specialty workers in short supply, including nurses, and millions of "undocumented immigrants" have been forced to remain in the US due to the dreaded "3 and 10 year bars" IIRIRA implemented, that effectively keep undocumented people in the US, for fear that if they leave, they will not be able to return for up to 10 years!

Although many politicians have noted the absurdity of the visa backlogs and notion that the US could somehow deport all 15 million or so "undocumented immigrants" in the US, few have risen to the occasion and introduced legislation for fear that they be labeled a supporter of "amnesty." "Amnesty" has been a politically unpopular word for many years as Conservative politicians throughout much of the US have used "undocumented immigrants" as scapegoats for many of the nation’s problems, including crime, budget deficits and high unemployment. The situation has gotten even worse over the last couple of years, as the economic crisis has forced even moderate politicians to bury their heads in the sand when it comes to the immigration debate in order to secure reelection.

With the commitment of the new administration and a Democratic majority in both houses, however, the stage is set for the sorely needed reforms the CIR ASAP will bring. CIR ASAP contains four main sections to address Border Security and Enforcement, Employment verification, Visa reforms and the Legalization of Undocumented Immigrants.

The Border Security provisions will create a security task force among Federal, State and Local law enforcement agencies to thwart violence along the Mexican border and provide additional manpower, training and support for all Customs and Border Patrol agents throughout the US. The ports of entry to the US will be studied to identify security risks and necessary improvements and modernization to reduce threats to our national security, among other upgrades.