Immigration reform said to be just on the horizon

With most of the nation’s attention firmly focused on the current gay-rights cases facing the U.S. Supreme Court this month, few attention is being paid to an equally important matter that could affect millions of immigrants in the United States. We’re talking of course about immigration laws; and with the Obama Administration continuing to press forward on the matter, immigration reform could occur within a few months.

Talks about immigration reform have been on the books for months now, but most intensely since President Obama announced his DREAM Act proposal. But now with both democrats and republicans in Congress finally meeting in the middle on many of the issues facing the county, recent advancements on the immigration reform bill look to be just on the horizon.

According to New York Senator Charles Schumer, a bipartisan group has completed approximately 90 percent of its draft of a bill that could completely change U.S. immigration laws as we know them. This is good news for thousands of Florida immigrants who have been waiting for change since the December election.

Although much of the draft is already complete, there still appears to be disagreements surrounding employment immigration, more specifically surrounding the distribution of employment visas to low-skilled workers. Although labor and businesses may not agree, explained the president in an interview with the Spanish-language station Telemundo, everyone involved in the discussion seems willing to work towards a compromise.

Despite Obama having very little hand in the negotiations, he is still optimistic that a beneficial outcome can be reached for the millions of immigrants currently residing in the United States. And with success seeming just around the corner, the president may very well achieve what is being considered the top legislative priority of his second term.

Source: The Bloomberg Businessweek, “Senate Group Close on Immigration Rewrite, Schumer Says,” Kathleen Hunter and Lisa Lerer, March 27, 2013