The Mexican immigrant community in Illinois received the news of a comprehensive immigration reform initiative proposed by Representative Luis Gutierrez (D-IL4) as an important step in the legalization of undocumented immigrants.

Community leaders said that the success of this proposal, known as "Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America's Security and Prosperity Act of 2009 (CIR ASAP)", will depend on intense work inside and outside of Congress.

These leaders consider that the community now plays an important role before Congress, while among immigrants there is fear about the requirements and the cost to change their legal status in the United States.

Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) Political Director Artemio Arreola explained that this proposal has been launched with the support of nearly 90 members of Congress, and although 218 votes are required to pass it, he projects that the initial support will give the proposal an advantage.

"Now, the first goal is to achieve the support of 100 members of Congress in the next few days," he said.

"That is why we need the participation of the community in an intense campaign of faxes, text messages and phone calls to solicit the support of legislators and of President Obama himself," he added.

Arreola expressed his belief that the content of the initiative is good, that it addresses all of the important topics having to do with immigration and that immigrants should familiarize themselves with it.

In addition, the proposal also requires that immigrants get organized to defend it and move it forward, for which the ICIRR is preparing informational meetings in Illinois with different immigrant communities.

The activist and Democratic nominee for Congress, Jorge Mújica, assures us that the CIR ASAP proposal is much better than the one presented by Gutierrez in 2007, "Security Through Regularized Immigration and a Vibrant Economy Act of 2007 (STRIVE ACT of 2007)." This new initiative asked that legislation, including the Dream Act, and AgJOBS, amplify the number of visas to 10,000 per year, and includes Mexico in that piece.

"Maybe the only problem is that it impedes access to legalization for those who have criminal records, as well as those who have three minor violations that turn into a major violation, which will generate a large number of people who will not be qualified," said Mújica.