The proposed reforms, which could have a dramatic effect on the plight of thousands of undocumented Irish in the U.S., were being described as the most comprehensive since a series of changes introduced by the Reagan administration in the mid-1980s.
“The president hopes to bring order to a disorderly situation,” a senior White House official said Tuesday.
Bringing “order” will require the cooperation of Congress and that could mean that any meaningful reform might take some time to take firm shape.
“We are pleased to see any positive proposals that would bring meaningful relief to the undocumented and we hope they will pass through Congress,” Sheila Gleeson, director of immigration service at the Irish Immigration Center in Boston, said.
Gleeson said that the plight of the undocumented was a major issue.
“A lot of people are suffering even while they contribute to society here,” she said.
Gleeson said that undocumented Irish immigrants should make it their business to follow closely all developments in the reform debate, and also to be careful about making travel plans in the light of enhanced screening at the U.S. points of entry.
The White House official indicated that reform would not be aimed solely at undocumented or illegal Mexicans. The White House, he said, intended to offer some hope to undocumented of all nationalities. The official would not indicate to what degree any proposals would be made retroactive.
Reports have indicated that the administration is interested in setting up a new program in which immigrants would be allowed into the U.S. if they could match their skills with an available job by means of a Web-based registry.
Also expected in the Bush package is a proposal by which the undocumented would be able to work toward legalization over a period of years, a process of so-called “earned adjustment.”
Congress has already initiated such a process for undocumented agricultural workers and leading legislators, such as Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, have been mulling broader legislation that would provide an earned adjustment process to undocumented immigrants in the general workforce.
As is always the case, the debate over immigration reform is certain to be contentious and probably lengthy. The fact that it is also an election year will only add to the potential for division in Congress over the reform issue.
A number of legislators in President Bush’s own party, most prominent Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado, are vehemently opposed to any relied being granted the undocumented.
(Ray O’Hanlon contributed to this report.)