Immigration Reform Headed for Passage

By Markos Moulitsas, Daily Kos. Posted June 29, 2009.

Both the White House and Senate Democratic leadership have reiterated that they expect to pass meaningful immigration reform this year or early next year.

First, the Senate, where good legislation usually goes to die:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said once again Tuesday that he has the votes to pass comprehensive immigration reform.

The only problem is finding floor time — and the political will in the Senate — to dig in on such a heated issue again.

"What is impeding comprehensive immigration reform is any floor time to do it," Reid told reporters. "I think we have the floor votes to do it."

Next, the White House:

My administration is fully behind an effort to achieve comprehensive immigration reform.  I have asked my Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Secretary Janet Napolitano, to lead up a group that is going to be working with a leadership group from both the House and the Senate to start systematically working through these issues from the congressional leaders and those with the relevant jurisdiction.

The timeline:

Obama and members of his administration met with the members of Congress to begin mapping a plan to build support for an immigration reform measure that the president has said he would like to pass "later this year or early next year," according to a senior White House official.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Obama said he was committed to push reform, even though similar efforts failed during the presidency of George W. Bush and sharp differences separate members of Congress when it comes to immigration reform, particularly as the economy continues to struggle.

"It's going to require some heavy lifting," Obama said. "It's going to require a victory of practicality and common sense and good policymaking over short-term politics. That's what I'm committed to doing as president."

Still, the messaging isn't all that harmonious. While Reid claims he has the votes, Rahm Emanuel claims the votes aren't there.

"If the votes were there, you wouldn't need to have the meeting. You could go to a roll call," Emanuel told reporters during an hour-long breakfast.

To which a Reid aide responded:

"The Senate passed a comprehensive immigration reform bill by a filibuster-proof margin and with strong bipartisan support in 2006, and we can do it again," spokesman Jim Manley said. "The White House should leave the vote counting to us."

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Markos Moulitsas is founder of the political blog Daily Kos and coauthor of "Crashing the Gate: Netroots, Grassroots, and the Rise of People-Powered Politics" (Chelsea Green Publishing).

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