Dear Readers:

Immigration is again front and center in the news with Congress considering passing the DREAM Act. The House of Representatives passed the bill and as of this writing, the Senate is still waiting for the last few votes to come through before it makes it on to the voting schedule. The bill has been popular in the past since it is focused on people who came to the country as children and were not acting on their own volition when they entered the country illegally or overstayed their visa.

But in a year when bipartisanship has become a distant memory, many who previously backed the bill have suddenly come up with reasons why they don’t support it. This is true of a number of Republicans like John McCain and Lindsay Graham and it is truly sad since real people’s lives are affected by the politicking.  One by one concessions are being offered – a standalone vote, expensive fees that will ensure it won’t have an effect on the deficit, extending the time it will take to get a green card, etc. But it is still a long shot that the DREAM Act will pass the Senate.

And then there is next year in a much more Republican Congress. I’m not as pessimistic as some that no progress can be made on immigration ssues over the next two years. But it will be a challenge with the House Immigration Subcommittee controlled by the extreme anti-immigrant Congressman Steve King. Congressional Republican leaders will need to bypass King, something they may decide makes sense as the electoral math of winning in a good economy without any minority support starts to look impossible.

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Readers are reminded that they are welcome to contact my law office if they would like to schedule a telephone or in person consultation with me or one of my colleagues. If you are interested, please call my office at 901-682-6455.

Regards,

Greg Siskind