According to an article on statesman.com: “In advocating broad immigration reforms that combine more enforcement with opportunities for illegal immigrants already here to become legal residents, Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama favor a course supported by a majority of Americans, said Luis Fraga, a political science professor at the University of Washington.”
Americans have supported CIR for some time. However, those who opposed any benefits or opportunity for legalization for the undocunented have been the most vocal. Considering that both presidential candidates, probably the majority of the incoming Congress and most Americans support CIR, one would expect that a new set of laws would be enacted by 2010. If Congress was able to pass a $700 billion + bailout of the financial industry into law in such short order – there is hope for serious immigration reform.
