By now  I’m sure you’ve seen/heard excerpts of the President’s State of the Union speech. 

       Two little sentences in the speech discussed the long-awaited policy shift on Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT) with regards to gays serving in the military.  That issue is being debated in Congress as I write this piece.  I am quite optimistic that DADT will be repealed by Congress and we can move on to other issues that our nation faces.

Another topic, having to do with a Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR), was even shorter than the DADT mention.  Specifically the President said:  “We should continue the work of fixing our broken immigration system, and ensure that everyone who plays by the rules can contribute to our economy and enrich our nation" offering no specific remedy or timing, " while offering no specifics.

Most members of Congress – all of the house and about 1/3 of the Senate are up for reelection this November.  Therefore, we can just assume that the Democratic caucus is not interested in anything but a bi-partisan immigration bill, if any at all.  At the same time, many Republicans want to regain the support of the Hispanic community and are eager to participate in the immigration debate.  But so far – they have not seen any public enthusiasm from their Democratic colleagues for the passage of CIR.  

Unemployment of over 10% does not bode well for immigrant advocates.  So, in recent days, they have re-packaged their arguments in support of CIR – stating that a legalization program could lead to $1.5 trillion in economic growth over a decade, add billions in tax revenue as workers move into the open economy, and protect jobs and wages by stopping illegal hiring.

Still, the window of opportunity is growing narrow, as the Senate is also preparing a jobs bill and financial regulations package.  

In short, what follows in the next few weeks could be either a revival of the CIR or its death – at least for the current Congressional session.

Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez (D-Ill) has introduced a House bill which promotes CIR – wanting to promote family unity - however, it is void of any support of our community’s families.  It does not include any provisions pertaining to the LGBT community.  If you want to have your piece heard by Rep. Gutierrez, please give him a call at 202-225-8203.  Or you can visit him on the web at: http://luisgutierrez.house.gov/esp/index.html.

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