The United States has come to a standstill in advance of debates on immigration reform legislation, which will undoubtedly become a main topic for discussion in the 111th American Congress.

“Less than a month remains before the start of discussions about the fate of illegal immigrants,” said Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) this week. “Congress commences work on January 3 and within several weeks we will have something to say about the general features of the future piece of legislation.”

Gutierrez expressed complete confidence in the success of immigration reform, “We do not have time for empty talk. Too many mistakes were made last year is discussions about immigration reform. We will prepare legislation, get it passed and send it to Barack Obama for his signature.” Remember, in the first days of his campaign, Obama indicated that he would sign any amnesty law for illegal immigrants. And the “softer” the bill, the more eagerly he will sign it.

In the coming year undocumented immigrants will have enormous support from dozens of governors and mayors and hundreds of organizations calling for reform. Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano said this week, “While before many people wanted to grant amnesty to illegal immigrants out of simple human compassion, now it just makes good sense. The country is going through an economic crisis and the appearance of legal workers that do not need to be deported is a very good beginning.”

Meanwhile, a respected group of lawyers, bureaucrats and human rights advocates from El Paso, TX have sent Barack Obama their plan for prospective immigration reform consisting of 70 points. “American laws must respect every person regardless of immigration status,” said Fernando Garcia, one of the plan’s authors. “People came to America in search of a good life. We do not have the right to call them criminals if they were not able to secure a footing here legally.”

Illegal immigration costs the state of Texas $4 billion annually. For comparison, the federal government allocates this same amount for funding the entire school system in the state.

Members of the Immigration Reform Coalition of Texas (IRCOT) have gone even further. They are convinced that Barack Obama will be perfectly able to sign legislation within the first three months of 2009. “Anyone who wants to help America end the economic crisis must support immigration reform,” said IRCOT director Rebecca Forest. “The country’s leadership has brought about too many disasters over recent years. It is up to the Democratic majority to fix this situation.”

It is noteworthy that representatives of the Republican Party maintain a more neutral than negative position on immigration reform legislation. Practically none of the respected “elephants” has uttered a word on this subject over the past month. It is probably the case that the Republicans, who have driven the country into a deep crisis, are simply considering new tactics and a new strategy so as to avoid completely disgracing themselves before millions of Americans.

It is interesting that a number of staunch proponents of reform do not see any role for the “elephants” in preparing the future piece of legislation. With a majority in Congress, Democrats could easily become the sole architects of reform. In my opinion, they are entirely within their rights to dictate their rules, exactly as supporters of George Bush Jr. have over the past eight years.

Let’s recall that over the entire past year, representatives of the Republican Party have hampered consideration of immigration bills, devoting more attention to the bloody and utterly useless activities of the American Army in the Middle East. This is why the statement of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), that “there is little that now depends on Republicans,” gives rise to the certainty of a bright future in the United States.

Finally, Barack Obama’s administration, made up of “Clinton’s workers,” is also a great present for undocumented immigrants. After all, Bill Clinton was the last president who was able to legalize of portion of undocumented immigrants (the Clinton amendment).

So, debates on the complicated fates of 12 million people will begin right after New Year celebrations. Russian Bazaar promises to follow this fascinating process closely and promptly inform readers of news from Capitol Hill. Who knows, maybe immigration reform really will be achieved within three months.