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Naturally, TNT’s in Arizona are worried, and there have been protests and lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of that law. (One constitutional challenge is that immigration is supposed to be regulated by the federal government, (such as Congress), and is not supposed to be regulated by the states, (such as Arizona). A few years ago, California’s Proposition 187 was declared "unconstitutional" for this reason.)

Despite the harshness of Arizona’s recent law, it has at least sparked a national debate on immigration reform. For so many years, comprehensive immigration reform has been ignored or put on the back burner by President Obama and the federal government. The excuse was that there were so many other "priorities," that comprehensive immigration reform would have to wait. There were the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the economy, the financial meltdown on Wall Street, healthcare reform, etc., all of which President Obama said needed to be handled first, before he would even consider dealing with any kind of immigration reform.

The passage of Arizona’s harsh immigration law has somewhat forced the federal government to deal with immigration reform. In fact, President Obama recently stated he wanted to pursue "comprehensive immigration reform" this year, vs. "next year" or "later," as was his previous position.

Comprehensive immigration reform would include not only addressing the enforcement aspects of immigration (such as securing our borders, to prevent people from sneaking across and deporting/removing aliens who are in illegal status), but it would also include a pathway to green cards and citizenship for people already in the US (i.e. some sort of amnesty or legalization program).

While I am opposed to the harsh Arizona law, I am glad that the federal government is finally paying attention to immigration reform, and hopefully will address the issue, after so many years of putting it on the back burner.

In reality, however, as I have emphasized in my previous columns and on Citizen Pinoy, legislators must be willing to cross party lines for the government to produce any immigration reform program. So there is really a need for you (who are interested in reform) to contact your Congressmen and Senator, to get them to act, and let them know that you are looking at this matter very closely. My website www.gurfinkel.com and my TV show, Citizen Pinoy will keep tabs on any progress in this regard.

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Michael J. Gurfinkel is licensed, and an active member of the State Bar of California and New York. All immigration services are provided by, or under the supervision of, an active member of the State Bar of California. Each case is different. The information contained herein (including testimonials, "Success Stories," endorsements and re-enactments) is of a general nature, and is not intended to apply to any particular case, and does not constitute a prediction, warranty, guarantee or legal advice regarding the outcome of your legal matter. No attorney-client relationship is, or shall be, established with any reader.

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