Immigration reform: This time, it's different

Now that the Republicans lost the election, they might cooperate with the Democrats and pass reform. Finally!   - - Donna Poisl

WHEN Congress last wrestled with immigration reform, in 2007, John Boehner, then the leader of the Republican minority in the House of Representatives, denounced the bill under consideration as "a piece of shit". George W. Bush, the president of the day, supported it, but many Republicans opposed it, mainly because it granted an amnesty of sorts to some of America's 12m or so illegal immigrants. Over the next five years immigration reform languished in Congress, a victim of Democratic distraction and Republican opposition. Yet earlier this month Mr Boehner, now speaker of the House, declared himself "confident that the president, myself and others can find the common ground to take care of this issue once and for all."

Barack Obama also seems optimistic. He recently said he expected a bill on the subject, including a mechanism to normalize the status of illegal immigrants, along with tougher penalties for hiring them and even-tighter border security, to be taken up in Congress early in the new year.
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