By Debbie McGoldrick

IN a speech on immigration reform delivered at the U.S./Mexico border at Yuma, Arizona on Monday, President George W. Bush said he is working towards a bipartisan immigration reform bill that he hopes will be delivered by the end of the year.

“I’ve been working to bring Republicans and Democrats together to resolve outstanding issues so that Congress can pass a comprehensive bill and I can sign it into law this year,” Bush said. “We need a comprehensive bill, and that’s what I’m working with members of Congress on, a comprehensive immigration bill. And now is the year to get it done.”

In another development, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced that the Senate will take up the issue of immigration reform during the last two weeks of May. Reid said that the Senate looks forward to working with Bush on the issue, but that much works needs to be done to bridge the gap between Democrats and Republicans.

“Senate Democrats agree with President Bush that we must pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill this year. The overwhelming majority of Americans want to reform our broken immigration system so that we can improve our border security and bring millions of undocumented workers out of the shadows of our society,” Reid said.

“While preliminary discussions with the White House have revealed many areas of bipartisan agreement, Democrats do have concerns about the workability of several elements of the administration’s recent draft proposals to members of Congress.”

Chief among those concerns are Bush’s proposals, released earlier this month, on how to legalize the estimated 12 million undocumented residents of the U.S. His plan, spearheaded by top advisor Karl Rove in consultation with a number of congressional Republicans, calls for a creation of a new Z visa which would be renewable every three years at a cost of $3,500 each time, which immigration rights groups have characterized as prohibitively expensive.

Z visa holders wishing to convert to permanent resident status would have to leave the country to do so, and apply at a U.S. consular post. The fee would be up to $10,000.

The White House proposals join legislation introduced last month in the House by Congressmen Luis Gutierrez and Jeff Flake, and an upcoming Senate bill which will be the main thrust of debate when the chamber addresses the issue next month.

“We will start with a bill that takes a tough and smart approach to securing the borders, cracking down on enforcement and laying out a path to earned legal status for undocumented immigrants already here and contributing to our society,” Reid said on Monday.

Though much work remains to be done, the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform is encouraged that the immigration debate is poised to once again take center stage on Capitol Hill.

“Politicians are once again starting to focus on it, and that’s a good thing,” said Kelly Fincham, executive director of the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform. “We’re planning on playing a very active part in the debate.”

Bush, according to reports, has been working diligently behind the scenes to gain consensus on a comprehensive immigration reform bill to place his stamp on a domestic policy issue of major importance before the 2008 presidential campaign kicks into high gear next year.

His speech in Yuma on Monday touted the success of recent border enforcement initiatives, though he added that comprehensive reform would be necessary to keep these successes from eventually failing.

“We’ve got to resolve the status of millions of illegal immigrants already here in the country,” Bush said. “So we’re working closely with Republicans and Democrats to find a practical answer that lies between granting automatic citizenship to every illegal immigrant and deporting every illegal immigrant.

“It is impractical to take the position that, oh, we’ll just find the 11 million or 12 million people and send them home. It’s just an impractical position; it’s not going to work. It may sound good. It may make nice sound bite news. It won’t happen. And, therefore, we need to work together to come up with a practical solution to this problem, and I know people in Congress are working hard on this issue.”