We all talk about the hope for immigration reform. Most agree the reform needs to be comprehensive, not piecemeal. All agree that it needs to be workable. As an immigration officer once told me: “let’s put a torch to the whole system and start from scratch!!!!” So, will it happen in 2010? If you read today’s headlines, you will see that key political players are now publicly pushing for immigration reform.   

 
Why is reform important? There are many reasons including:
 
·         We  need to provide legal avenues for immigration to the USA so that we avoid people coming in illegally or overstaying their authorized entry and to reduce the amount of fraud in the system.    We need to set the standards for entry by passing workable laws. There needs to be a system set up to authorized certain numbers of working visas for the lower skilled or unskilled to come legally to the USA without  hurting those of us who are citizens --by taking away our jobs, slots in our schools, our hospital beds etc. It can happen. We are smart enough to figure out a workable system.
 
·         We live in a global economy. If anything, we have seen this through this latest downturn in the economy. If the USA wants to be empowered as a super power in the world,  it must be prepared to globally transact the most important commodity any nation has to offer—people and talent. The USA needs to accept top students and provide legal avenues to retain top talent within its borders. This is part and parcel of immigration—employment based immigration.
 
·         We need to consider that our population is aging and in the next 10 years, we will need immigrants who tend to be younger folks in their 20’s and 30’s to contribute to the social security system legally and as “manpower” for the economy. This is hard to believe and see now that we are recovering from an economic downturn. However, if the USA does not welcome immigrants, it faces the danger of population decreases that leave it in a vulnerable position when the economy needs workers. Family size has decreased. People are aging. In 2009, the number of births from minorities exceeded the number of white babies born in the USA. 
 
·         We need to unite families who have been kept apart by harsh visa quotas in the family-based system.
 
·         We need to eliminate extremist talk, views, state laws etc. 
 
·         Immigration is part and parcel of our foundation as a nation—the USA knows how to handle diversity—it is a strength—let us keep it that way.
 
Will immigration reform happen in 2010? It should be a great political debate. Here are some names I follow in the news:
 
1.         President  Barack Obama—he promised Immigration reform during the campaign. Latinos voted for President   Obama. Latinos want reform and will likely support candidates that support reform and there are even suggestions that Latinos will not show up at the ballot box for any candidate (horrible for Democrats) if reform does not happen before November of 2010.  Today, during a White House citizenship ceremony, President Obama publicly committed again to the fight for immigration reform.
 
2.         Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY member of the Judiciary Committee) and  Senator Lindsey Graham  (R – SC)  who together have been working on a Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill. These two Senators have met with President Obama and have published an Op-Ed in the Washington Post outlining the reform bill that they would introduce. Senator Graham has stated that he wants more Republicans supporting the bill before its introduction in the Senate.  
 
3.       Senator Harry Reid, the majority Leader in the Senate. He is in a heated re-election battle this November. He is from Nevada where many Latino voters live. He needs the Latino vote in order to win re-election. He has stated that Comprehensive Immigration Reform will be on the Senate’s agenda in 2010.
 
4.       House Majority Leader, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi. She is Democrat from California. She wants the immigration  bill in the Senate to pass before the House takes up Immigration Reform. She has stated that she will add the bill to the House agenda if the Senate passes it first.   She has committed to dealing with the immigration reform bill before climate/energy legislation.
 
5.       Representative Luis V. Gutierrez (R-Illinois). He introduced a Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill in the House in 2009. He traveled the country building support for the bill before it was introduced.   The Gutierrez bill has the support of several Representatives (and has several co-sponsors).   It is the Liberal version of Comprehensive Reform according to many commentators.  Representative Gutierrez is very seriously fighting for Comprehensive Immigration Reform and he has the support of Latinos who will likely follow his recommendation and not stand behind candidates in November who were not supportive of reform. Some commentators suggest that Representative Gutierrez has enough clout among Latinos to also keep them away from the ballot box if so required.
 
What can the average citizen do?
 
If you are in support of immigration reform and have views on what should or should not be included in a comprehensive bill, please do contact your congressional representatives and let them know. These days, it is so easy to do. Google the representatives for your district and the senators from your state. Write to them—using e-mail or snail mail or fax. Please do take a stand and do write and make your position  known to your congressional representatives. I also think it is important to write to the President, the Senate and House Leaders and the possible sponsors of bills  even if these individuals are not your own representatives. They need to know where this nation stands.
 
Of course, you can do much more. You can make donations to groups and organizations that take your stand . You can march in rallies and much more. PLEASE, start with letters to the President and Congress!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Submitted by Maria L. Santos, Attorney
Date: April 23, 2010
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Maria L. Santos, Attorney
Balas, Alphen & Santos, P.C.
200 Littleton Rd
Westford, MA 01886
978-692-3107