When will the millions of hard-working undocumented immigrants across the United States get some relief? Just when hopes were raised that President-elect Barack Obama will stay true to his campaign promise and work with Congress to make earned legalization a reality, another crisis has hit. This time it’s the economic crisis that is taking thousands of American jobs and making the case for granting working papers to immigrants less strong.

So as advocates prepare to make a massive march in Washington come January 21, the case is seeming weaker by the minute when compared to the rising economic woes and now the Mid-East crisis.

It is sadly reminiscent of the days prior to 9/11, when President Bush was gung-ho on also bringing immigration reform to the United States. Then 9/11 hit, and the issue became one of native-born Americans versus “foreigners,” especially because a few wretched foreign terrorists were behind the catastrophe that was 9/11.

Lost in the anti-immigration argument was the fact that many immigrants were also victims of the terror. Despite Bush’s best effort, which must be remembered as part of his eight-year legacy, his party managed to turn the debate on reform into a massive racist, anti-immigration campaign led by hosts like Lou Dobbs and Rush Limbaugh. This, ironically, cost them Congress and now the White House. Yet few fail to still recognize this as many now plan to “retain their dominance in the immigration debate [by] ... reframing the immigration issue as a threat to ever-scarcer jobs in the context of the national economic crisis,” according to Tom Barry of the Americas Policy Program’s Trans Border Project.

It is a fact that the Democrats – who will now control both houses as of January 20 – should note, given the strong immigrant bloc of voters who turned against their Republican counterparts and handed the Democrats and Obama victory on November 4.

The President-elect and Democrats must stay true to their word and work hard to bring relief to the millions of undocumented immigrants across the United States.

Why, especially given this tough economy? Because as David L. Wilson, co-author of The Politics of Immigration: Questions and Answers, points out, the native-born organizing alongside their immigrant co-workers will only help to raise wages, improve labor conditions and help provide jobs for all, as they work together to bring down the greedy who brought the economy to its knees.

“In the 1930s many working people allowed themselves to be divided along ethnic and racial lines, but many others overcame those visions to organize the protests, boycotts and strikes that led to the labor protections and social services we have today,” said Wilson. “In the current crisis, a lot will depend on how quickly and aggressively activists challenge the right wing on immigration by organizing around the real economic issues.”

Immigrants, especially the undocumented, must not be scape-goated again as they were on 9/11 and after. Those who have been living in the United States without legal papers for many years, who have children who are of college age and who are hard working, creating their own employment, in many cases, and staying clear of crimes while paying their taxes and contributing to this country, MUST be granted relief from the “prison” that has held them for many years. Unofficially incorporating them into the mainstream fabric of this country, once and for all, will only help us to pull this country back from the morass and help us return stronger than ever – economically, politically and socially.

The writer is founder of CaribWorldNews.com, CaribPRWire and Hard Beat Communications.