Immigration Reform – Will It Happen?

With only five legislative days left in 2013 it looks like there is no chance for the Congress to move forward with work on immigration reform. It was common understanding that the reform will either happen this year, or chances of passing it thru will drop significantly.
Now, the question is: will it happen in 2014? GOP Speaker of the House John Boehner recently hired former aide to Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.), Ms. Becky Tallent to advise him on the topic of immigration. This move, along with his statements made earlier this month, that in his view the immigration reform is “absolutely not dead” are encouraging. Although it is unlikely the House will move forward with all-in-one bill, as the Senate did with bill S.744, separate step-by-step bills covering areas like border protection, employment eligibility verification (e-verify) and legalization are likely to be worked on.
It should be kept in mind that 2014 is an election year – it means politicians might not be willing to pass any law that might be viewed as controversial by some of their constituencies. But we should be encouraged by fact that last three immigration reforms that became a law (1986, 1990 and 1996) happened during election years.