Shall we wait for amnesty or return to Poland? Thousands of Poles still living in the United States without a valid immigration status are asking this question.

We need to wait a good couple of months to know the answer. In the next few weeks, we will find out the fate of immigration reform; however, the window of opportunity that will allow Congress to approve the amnesty program will be open only for a short period of time – politicians of both parties will try to avoid talking about the reform during the upcoming midterm elections campaign, which will begin in the spring of 2010.

Despite this, chances for reforming the immigration system still seem quite real. Janet Napolitano, head of the Department of Homeland Security, talked about it last Friday. Politicians from the Democratic Party, including Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Representative Luis V. Gutierrez (D-IL), are also stressing that reform is on its way. Gutierrez will introduce a bill to the House of Representatives in the next couple of days – a first concrete step towards reform. Apart from securing the borders, the bill calls for tightening control of employment at the work place, but it also offers a path to citizenship. The "amnesty" (although the politicians fear getting burned for using this term) will involve paying fines by people who have broken immigration laws. How high the fines are going to be is not known at this point.

The immigration reform bill is to be discussed by Congress after health care reform – the more important issue from the American point of view – is voted on. The Democrats, who hold the majority on Capitol Hill, are aware that they have a unique opportunity to introduce changes to immigration legislation, one that may not come around again soon.

Immigration reform is one of the most fervently discussed issues by Poles, something that can be clearly seen on this paper's website: www.dziennik.com. The discussion is often accompanied by lots of emotions and remarks not void of malice by those who have already gotten their green card.

There is a lot of demagogy and cheap populism there, and false xenophobia that is directed against those who came to the United States some time after us and who have not been so successful.

Regardless of appearances, undocumented immigrants from Poland are not losers who failed to use the many opportunities to legalize their status. For the past dozen years or so, the chances for changing one's immigration status have systematically shrunk, leaving few options such as marrying a U.S. citizen. Many Poles simply had no luck, falling prey to immigration crooks, or losing their work sponsors, for example, to bankruptcy.

It is for them that Polish organizations should show support. Polish organizations should also join coalitions that are lobbying for amnesty and obtaining immigration reform. That these Poles get their "papers" – and in the long run, also citizenship – can only strengthen the Polonia.

But, when will this happen? We just have to wait and see.