| The 110th Congress and Immigration Reform
McMahon, Robert
Council on Foreign Relations Backgrounder, February 2007, online edition
"The country's immigration system, assailed by all sides as inadequate, generated intense congressional debate in 2006. However, widely divergent approaches by the House of Representatives and the Senate doomed efforts at comprehensive reform. Democrats, now in leadership positions in the 110th Congress, say they will attempt to revive efforts at comprehensive immigration reform with measures that encompass temporary work provisions, a path to citizenship for illegal aliens in the country, as well as bolstered security at the border. President Bush and a number of Senate Republicans share common ground with Democrats on many key aspects of immigration reform, including efforts to legalize many of the estimated twelve million illegal immigrants in the country. Congressional Republicans opposed to such moves, though diminished in numbers since the 2006 election, have vowed to fight any attempt at what they term an amnesty for workers who break the law." Robert McMahon has a masters degree in international relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. He has written for publications including the Fletcher Forum of World Affairs, the Weekly Standard, MSNBC.com and Transitions Online.
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