America's first Muslim member of Congress, Keith Ellison (D-MN), has said comprehensive immigration reform will be finalized by February 2010. Talking to Pakistan Post at the residence of prominent Pakistani American Mohammad Tufail at Potomac, Maryland, last week Congressman Ellison said progress was being made in the Congress on healthcare reform. He added that efforts were being made to extend health coverage to every individual irrespective of his/her immigration status. He believed that health coverage was the right of every legal and illegal resident of the United States.

"If the children of these undocumented immigrants catch deadly diseases such as tuberculosis and are denied treatment... Such a policy will be counterproductive and will tantamount to deliberately landing ourselves in a larger mess," he stated.

On immigration reform, Congressman Ellison spoke of a broader consensus that was emerging on the need for comprehensive immigration reform and mentioned that effort is being made to find a reasonable solution for the undocumented immigrants already in the country and to further strengthen border security.

Ellison sees the need for more intelligent trade and agriculture policies to help control illegal immigration into the United States. He offered U.S. agricultural subsidies as an example, saying that dumping subsidized corn into Mexico would naturally set off illegal migration northward.

Commenting on several proposals under consideration to reform the immigration system, he pointed to one that looks to revamp the Green Card system that would allow employers to sponsor workers for a permanent resident card and thus pave the way for their citizenship. A second proposal mentioned involves issuing biometric IDs to undocumented immigrants so they can seek employment. A third proposal calls for issuance of work permits to the undocumented immigrants. He said a final bill is expected to be presented in the U.S. Congress in February 2010.