Today, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary will meet and discuss three immigration related bills: a bill to amend the INA to provide compensation for states incarcerating undocumented immigrants (H.R. 1512); a bill to require the DHS Secretary to administer naturalization oaths to LPRs on or near Independence Day (H.R. 2405); and, a bill to assist members of the U.S. armed forces in obtaining U.S. citizenship (H.R. 2884).

After the Senate failed to pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill in June, and contrary to predictions that the immigration reform issue would not be resuscitated until after the 2008 presidential elections, we are seeing Congress people introduce immigration reform provisions in unrelated bills. First, the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act (DREAM Act) may be close to becoming law this year as part of the Department of Defense authorization bill. Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL), Chuck Hagel (R-NE) and Richard Lugar (R-IN) introduced the DREAM Act as an amendment to H.R. 1585, the Department of Defense authorization bill, today. The amendment will need 60 votes to pass. Then, the Department of Defense authorization bill will be called for a vote with the DREAM Act included.

While the hot button issue remains the question of what to do with undocumented immigrant workers, some Congress people have begun to introduce measures to reform immigration laws or remedy current immigration shortages.

Congress will once again take up the agricultural guest-worker, or more popularly known as the “AgJobs” bill, this week. Approximately two months after the comprehensive immigration reform legislation failed in the Senate, the AgJobs bill is now being driven by pure need. According to DHS estimates, approximately one-third or more of U.S. farm workers are in this country illegally.