SAN DIEGO — President Obama recently reignited the immigration debate when he told reporters that congressional leaders of both parties were ready to “actively get something done and not put it off until a year, two years, three years, five years from now, but to start working on this thing right now.”

In the months ahead, keep an eye on two things: the calendar and the issue of guest workers.

The calendar: “Right now” might not be soon enough. The conventional wisdom is that the longer Obama waits, the harder it will be to pass any immigration reform legislation. One immigration activist I spoke with even had a deadline in mind: March 2010. Congress has to discuss the bill this fall, he said, and pass it no later than next spring. His thinking — and that of many others — is that the 2010 midterm elections might cut into the Democratic majority in Congress, and then the chance for immigration reform could slip away.

We link to The Washington Post article.

Senator Schumer issues a game plan that he thinks will get a CIR bill passed.

We link to the ILW.com article.

The Immigratiion Policy Center HAS issued an excellent “primer” on Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR).  We link to this for your reference and information.

Immigrants, labor unions, business, religious groups, and civil rights organizations continued full steam ahead today at the national immigration Campaign Summit in Washington, D.C., to push Congress for comprehensive immigration reform. According to Summit organizers, the newly re-energized groups managed to send more than 100,000 faxes calling for comprehensive reform to Congress in the last 48 hours-in addition to a full day of lobby visits on Capitol Hill.

This week several organizations will launch a campaign to Reform Immigratin FOR America in cities across the country – from LA to Miami. Today a large coalition of allies from business to community groups, will officially kick off this campaign in Washington, DC.  We link to the Notice from the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA):

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/6764009/AILA

Politico reports that President Obama has invited members of Congress from both sides of the aisle to discuss immigration reform at the White House on June 8th.  An unnamed administration official stated, “The meeting will be an opportunity to launch a policy conversation that we hope will be able to start a debate that will take place in Congress later in the year.”

We link to

AILA has recently published an excellent Powerpoint on why the system is broken.

We link to

Business Week Magazine started a conversation about a hot topic this month.  We link to the first article in a series that will examine immigration issues amid a recession by Moira Herbst.

The Washington Times reported today that on the thorniest of political issues, Obama has embraced the enforcement-first position on immigration that he criticized during last year’s campaign.  He’s now saying that he can’t move forward with the type of comprehensive bill he wants until the voters are convinced that the borders can be enforced.

We quote:  “If the American people don’t feel like you can secure the borders then it’s hard to strike a deal that would get people out of the shadows and on a pathway to citizenship who are already here, because the attitude of the average American is going to be….Well, you’re just going to have hundreds of thousands of more coming in each year.”

On February 12, Chairman Patrick Leahy and Ranking Member Arlen Specter announced membership lists for the Senate Judiciary Committee’s subcommittees in the 111th Congress.

There will be six subcommittees: Administrative Oversight and the Courts; Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights; The Constitution; Crime and Drugs; Immigration, Refugees and Border Security; and Terrorism and Homeland Security…

Senator Schumer has been a big proponent of Comprehensive Immigration Reform and co-sponsored the Nurse Relief Act of 2008.

Learn how Schumer has voted on Immigration

For more information on the subcommittees being announced:
Read this article from OnTheIssues.org

Immigration, Refugees and Border Security

Democratic Members
Charles Schumer, New York (Chairman)
Patrick Leahy, Vermont
Dianne Feinstein, California
Richard Durbin, Illinois
Sheldon Whitehouse, Rhode Island
Ron Wyden, Oregon

Republican Members
John Cornyn, Texas (Ranking Member)
Charles Grassley, Iowa
Jon Kyl, Arizona
Jeff Sessions, Alabama