President Barack Obama said on Friday he expects Congress to overhaul the country's immigration system, an issue that fires up emotions on both sides of the political divide, by "early next year."
With health care reform hitting one stumbling block after another, it's no surprise that comprehensive immigration reform will not happen this year. The question is, how good are the odd for it in 2010?
The president certainly left a way out for himself:
Asked if an immigration bill would have enough votes to pass Congress, Obama said he did not know. He also noted as a further complication that next year is an election year.
The reality is, the Democrats must introduce CIR to fulfill their promise to the Hispanic community, whether they still have the political power or will to pass it or not.
My personal opinion is that CIR would be a tougher sell than DOMA Repeal. It's getting harder and harder for the GOP to motivate their base using wedge issues such as gay marriage, and they're becoming increasingly wary of doing that. But CIR would provide them with another opportunity to attack the Dems. Imagine a TV commercial that says:"While millions of Americans are without jobs, the Democrats decide to grant job-stealing illegal immigrants citizenship..."
Yes, it will make the GOP's effort to appeal to their Hispanic constituents all the more harder, but I think they've basically given up on that.
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