Now Is The Time For Immigration Reform
by Thomas W. Roach
2009 is the year for comprehensive immigration reform. The stage is set, the stars are aligned and the time is now.


So, why is now the time and not 2006 or 2007 when the measure twice failed to become law? What’s different in 2009?

Plenty.

First, the new Democratic President is in favor of immigration reform and both houses of Congress are not only democratic but strongly democratic. The Democrats hold 58 of the 100 Senate seats and 257 of the 435 House seats, a margin of 79. Senate Majority leader Harry Reid said recently that the immigration issue has already been thoroughly debated. Senator John McCain, the presumptive leader of the Republican party, has pledged to help pass immigration reform and Reid says he “doesn’t expect much of a fight at all.â€