Many in Miami have followed the recent federal debate over immigration reform with great interest. Florida’s own Mario Diaz-Balart has been at forefront of this debate, often breaking away from the popular opinion of many of his fellow GOP colleagues in pushing for major reforms that would provide for an immediate path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, among other changes.
Yet even the most ardent reform supporter like Diaz-Balart has begun to recognize how bleak the outlook is for any of the measures presented earlier this year regarding reform to be addressed before the end of the year. Any momentum the reforms carried when they came from the Senate over four months ago seems to have been lost. Even the bipartisan group that Diaz-Balart chaired to present their own reform plan has lost the support of the Republican members involved and has since fallen apart.
Worse yet, Diaz-Balart fears that any current proposals could be overlooked during this current Congressional session. With limited time available before the election cycle begins next year for many sitting members of Congress, if those reforms aren’t addressed sometime in February or March, they most likely will never be brought up.
Yet the hopes of many that a massive overhaul of U.S. immigration law is on its way still live on. Even as he speculates that the current initiative may be dead, Diaz-Balart insists that there is still interest in Congress to address this issue, and that efforts being made to address the status of undocumented immigrants are making progress.
Many who have a personal stake in whatever reforms lie on the horizon should continue to monitor the progress of these topics. An immigration lawyer may serve as a good source for information regarding any changes in the works.
Source: The Huffington Post “Mario Diaz-Balart Predicts No Immigration Reform This Year” Elise Foley, Nov. 07, 2013
