US: Irish lobbyists on behalf of illegal immigrants in the United States are confident that a comprehensive immigration Bill will return to the Senate floor early next month.
Speaking after a meeting with senior staff of Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Arlen Specter in Washington yesterday, Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform (ILIR) representative Ciarán Staunton said key senators were determined to return to the issue as soon as possible.
"Everybody is very optimistic and they hope to return to it two weeks after they come back from recess next week," he told The Irish Times. Mr Staunton said that Mr Specter and his colleagues hoped to take up the immigration Bill at the stage where a deal unravelled before the Easter break and to avoid having to re-introduce legislation through committees.
The ILIR is backing a compromise that came close to agreement in the Senate, under which most of America's illegal immigrants, including tens of thousands of Irish citizens, would be allowed to stay in the US and eventually earn citizenship.
Some immigrant groups are divided over a boycott of schools, jobs and shops on May 1st, which some activists see as a chance to show the economic power of America's estimated 12 million illegal immigrants.
Other groups, including the ILIR, fear the action could alienate the American public, and groups in Los Angeles have broadcast radio ads in Spanish warning that they could lose their jobs if they take part in the boycott and called instead for a five-mile march after work.
Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles, who has been an outspoken advocate of comprehensive immigration reform, issued a statement urging immigrants to ignore the boycott.
"Personally, I believe that we can make May 1st a win-win day here in southern California: go to work, go to school and then join thousands of us at a major rally afterwards," he said.
The National Capital Immigration Coalition, an alliance of groups that organised last week's demonstration in Washington, also opposes the boycott.
The coalition has called instead for a voter registration drive to ensure that the pro-immigrant vote is effective in November's congressional elections.
Republicans and Democrats have blamed each other for the Senate's failure to agree an immigration reform Bill before the Easter recess.
Republicans claim that Democrats see a political advantage in going to the polls in November without an immigration Bill, the failure of which could be blamed on the Republican majority in Congress.
Democratic leaders have denied the charge, but an "insiders' poll" in the National Journal last week found that 80 per cent of Democratic strategists and operatives believed their party would benefit in November from failure to pass an immigration Bill.
Republicans are deeply divided over the issue, with many conservatives favouring tougher border security and effective penalties for those who hire illegal immigrants and opposing a guest worker programme and a path to citizenship for undocumented workers already in the US.
These divisions mean that despite Republican majorities in both houses of Congress, a comprehensive immigration reform Bill can only win approval with the support of Democrats.
Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean this week surprised observers in Washington by declaring that border security was his party's top immigration priority in November.
"The first thing we want is tough border control. We have to do a much better job on our borders than George Bush has done. And then we can go to the policy disagreements about how to get it done," he said.
Mr Dean said he favours a path to earned citizenship for illegal immigrants, as outlined in the McCain-Kennedy Bill, but made clear that Democrats will seek to blame Republicans in November if no immigration reform is agreed.
"We want tough and smart immigration reform, we want border control, and if we have to increase the federal protection along the borders, we will.
"Don't forget, the Republicans have been in power for five years. They've had the House and Senate and the White House most of that time. And they have done nothing about immigration," he said.