Guadalajara Reporter

At a press conference this week in Mexico, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano repeated President Barack Obama’s commitment to “comprehensive” immigration reform.

However well received her comments were on the Mexican side, do they represent nothing more than empty election-year pledges from an administration that has been reluctant to see through many of the promises made in the heady days of the 2008 campaign trail?

Obama may argue that he has no control of the legislative agenda – the economy has certainly required his full attention – but his lack of urgency and vagueness about a time line for reform is disrespectful to a frequently misunderstood sector of the population that is forced to live in the shadows of the world’s most open society.  (Those Americans who continually vilify illegal immigrants are perfectly happy to accept the seven billion dollars paid into the Social Security system by undocumented workers who do not receive a single benefit.)

Put simply, comprehensive reform means giving 12 million undocumented migrants living in the United States a path to citizenship, while simultaneously putting policies into effect to discourage illegal immigration.

Of course, millions of U.S. conservatives would just like to see a law enforcement approach to immigration, without any commitment to the human rights of those involved – including many adults who have been in the country since childhood.

Even if Obama wins a second term, he faces an uphill battle to see a reform bill through Congress. Although it would have been a major step forward, the S.1348 Comprehensive Immigration Act drafted in cooperation with the Bush White House in 2007 died a quick death due to its overly complex nature (380 pages) and thanks to the incessant attacks by many Americans as being nothing more than an “amnesty bill.”

If Mitt Romney or Rick Santorum win the Republican nomination and go on to defeat Obama in November one should expect little movement on immigration, except for greater spending on border security and more employer sanctions for the hiring of undocumented immigrants.

But if Obama wins a second endorsement from the U.S. electorate, it is time for him to step up to the plate and push ahead vigorously with a reform package that truly seeks to lift millions of immigrants out of the shadows.