WASHINGTON -- President George W. Bush was expected to sign late last month an immigration bill that would provide $1.2 billion to build fences along the nation’s southern border, according to the Examiner in the nation’s capital. It added the appropriation would also be used for vehicles, surveillance equipment and for 1,500 new Border Patrol agents.

                Although the President has favored an immigration bill that combines tough border security and a path to legalization for the country’s 12 million undocumented, he has always said he would sign any immigration bill as a first phase of addressing the issue.

                The 109th US Congress rushed the immigration bill before members headed home to step up their campaigns for the November 7 elections, when Democrats are expected to retake the House by winning at least 15 seats next month. The Republican-dominated 109th Congress reconvenes for a lame duck session in December.

All 435 congressmen and a third of the 100-member senate are up for reelection this year. US Congressman Mike Honda (D-CA), chairman of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), is pinning hopes on Thai American Tammy Duckworth, a veteran of the Iraqi war, to win the Illinois seat being vacated by US Congressman Henry Hyde.

Quoting House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), the Examiner reported on September 27 that a Senate-House conference committee was finishing off the bill on border security package. The committee is composed of lawmakers from both parties.

In December last year, the US House of Representatives passed a bill that criminalizes illegal immigration and stresses border security. In the senate, Democrats, joined by some Republicans, passed last March a comprehensive immigration reform bill–with border security and a path to citizenship. The President favors the senate bill. Republican congressional leaders contend this is amnesty, and would only encourage more illegal aliens to come to the US.

"They’re not really serious about the immigration bill this year, they’re just grandstanding and appealing to their base because it’s election year," Paul Igasaki, executive director of the Rights Working Group, told Asian Fortune on September 21. "They’re politicizing the issue."

Immigration rally

Immigration reform continues to be a complex, controversial issue that has galvanized Latinos, Asian Americans, and other minority groups. It has resulted in the forging of coalitions composed of minorities, labor, church and civil rights groups.

"Yes, it’s similar to the civil rights movement of the 60s," J. Traci Hong, Asian American Justice Center director of immigration programs, told Asian Fortune during a rally held September 7 in the nation’s capital.

"But that movement took years, so immigration reform movement will not happen overnight," she added in response to critics who noted the low turn-out. In April, hundreds of thousands converged at the capital. The Washington Post reported the latest rally drew less than 5,000 people. The rally was co-sponsored by the National Capital Immigration Coalition, We Are America Alliance, and People for the American Way.

AAJC’s Hong stressed: "This rally in Washington D.C. and events in other cities across the country this week shows immigration reform is not an issue that will go away quietly. The Asian American community and other minorities that are being harmed by the broken immigration system will continue to speak out until the politicians reform the system comprehensively."

At the National Mall rally, US Congressman Honda, speaking in Spanish, expressed his support for the senate version of the bill. US Senator Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), co-sponsor of the senate bill, spoke forcefully for ten minutes. "Senate passed a good bill,"he said, and led in the chanting of "Si, se puede!"--loosely translated as Yes, we can, or Yes, it’s possible. He cited the contributions of immigrants over the years. Historically, he noted, minorities have served America in wars to promote democracy. Today, minorities are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, he stressed.