WASHINGTON – The fate of the comprehensive immigration reform bill will depend on when President George W. Bush and the Democrats, who formally take over Congress next month, are inclined to take up the issue in earnest, as well as their efforts to reach a compromise.

            The President favors granting a temporary guest worker status to the estimated 12 million undocumented aliens in the US. His stated position is closer to that of the Democrats, who support the comprehensive immigration reform legislation, than that of the Republicans. The comprehensive bill would grant legalization to the undocumented after they have fully complied with penalty payments and other tough requirements.

Republicans in Congress and their constituents call the comprehensive bill an "amnesty," a label that Democrats have tried hard to avoid. They introduced a bill that would make it a felony for aliens to enter the country illegally, and also for any individual, company or community group to help them. Just before heading out for the homestretch campaign, Republicans hurriedly passed a bill that would build a 700-mile security fence along a part of the US-Mexico border. Bush signed the legislation as a first phase of resolving the immigration issue.

But later rather than sooner appears to be the theme. It’s a hurdle for Senator John McCain (R-AZ), bill sponsor and 2008 presidential candidate–who would prefer to re-introduce the McCain-Kennedy bill and get it passed early in the 110th Congress, before the start of the primaries–and also Asian American advocacy groups energized by the prospect of a Democratic Congress.

A November 19 New York Times online article by Jim Rutenberg and Adam Nagourney reported senior presidential advisor Karl Rove’s post-election strategy is to"first placate conservatives" (by having the President submit a list of conservative judicial nominees to Congress for starters), and only then moving "to the middle to strike deals with Democrats on immigration reform or Social Security."

On the same day, Amy Goldstein and Lyndsey Layton reported in The Washington Post the incoming Democratic Congress was inclined to push as priority the domestic issues affecting the middle class: minimum wage, college tuition, health care costs and retirement incomes.

Role of Advocates

"Asian Americans and other minorities can help put the immigration issue on top of the congressional agenda," said David Burnham, former Times reporter and now co-director of Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse based in the nation’s capital.

            At a panel discussion sponsored by the National American Media and Open Society Institute (OSI) held at the OSI office on November 2 in this capital, Burnham told Asian Fortune: "Even if the Democrats win, I don’t think that would help the immigration bill. But the lesson this year for the immigrant community is, rallies alone won’t cut it. Senators and congressmen listen to their constituents. And this year, they got more emails and phone calls from those voicing their opposition to the comprehensive immigration bill."

            With the 109th Congress, which ends this month, divided on the complex immigration issue, advocates plan to prod the 110th US Congress into action. Starting in January, the Democrats will be in control of both the House and the Senate. As committee chairmen, they can decide the legislative agenda, when to hold hearings, and determine which bills move forward to a floor vote.

Immigration reform will be pushed by Asian American organizations, such as the Asian American Justice Center (AAJC) and South Asian American Leaders for the Future (SAALT). For years, AAJC Executive Director Karen Narasaki has been at the forefront of a comprehensive immigration reform effort, including a speeded-up family reunification feature.

Remarked lawyer and SAALT Executive Director Deepa Iyer: "We are hopeful that the new Congress will be open to addressing many of the issues that SAALT and other immigrant rights organizations have been advocating for– from immigration reform to anti-racial and religious profiling initiatives to protections for low-wage workers, and the undocumented."

Echoed Meghna Goswani and Maliha Imami-Alam of Daya, Inc., a non-profit organization based in Houston which works with SAALT: "With the political changes in place after the mid-term elections, we are hopeful that the Senate and House of Representatives will be able to work together towards bringing about comprehensive immigration reform that will ensure the civil, economic and political rights of both documented and undocumented immigrants."

"South Asians can make a difference in ensuring that these issues and others are being discussed on the local and national level," added Atashi Chakravarthy, executive director of Narika, a non-profit organization based in the Bay Area in California.