Dear Readers:

In a little more than a week, voters across the United States will cast ballots in the 2010 midterm elections. If the pollsters are to be believed, Republicans will make gains across the board. Some in the pro-immigration community greatly fear what may come. The conventional wisdom holds that Republicans are generally anti-immigration will seek to promote such an agenda.

I'm not quite as fearful. Certainly, losing Zoe Lofgren as the House Immigration Subcommittee Chair would be a great loss as would seeing Sen. Chuck Schumer no longer chairing the Senate Subcommittee. And seeing Congressman Lamar Smith or Sen. Chuck Grassley running the show on either committee is indeed worrisome.

But, history has certainly shown that the pro-immigration party doesn't necessarily deliver pro-immigration results and the anti-immigration party doesn't necessarily lead to more restrictionist legislation. The last two years alone have shown this. Despite having the White House, the House of Representatives and the Senate, Democrats have failed to pass any pro-immigration legislation. Perhaps the most anti-immigration legislation last 20 years, the 1996 Immigration Act, was signed by Democratic President Bill Clinton. The pro-immigration 1990 Immigration Act was signed by Republican Pres. George Bush and the pro-immigration AC 21 legislation was passed by a Republican House of Representatives.

Obviously the anti-immigration rhetoric espoused by many candidates in this election cycle has been cause for concern. On the hand, the overwhelming defection of Latino voters to the Democratic Party over the last five years has caught the attention of some in the GOP and it seems inevitable that the party will have to begin rebuilding its relationship with Latino voters if it hopes to remain a viable party nationally. I would be surprised if we don't start hearing pro-immigration voices emerging in the GOP shortly after the election.

The most immediate immigration-related question people will be asking after the election is whether immigration issues will be dealt with during the lame-duck session. There is a small chance that the DREAM Act could get another vote we will have to wait to see whether supporters of legislation can convince the Democratic leadership that pushing the bill has one of the few measures likely be considered in the lame-duck is worthwhile.

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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