Secretary Napolitano “Forecasts” Immigration Reform in 2010

In an article today, the Washington Post reports on a speech made by the Homeland Secretary Janet Napolitano and her prediction that in “[t]he first part of 2010, we will see legislation beginning to move.”

The Post article is based on a speech made by Secretary Napolitano earlier today.  She claimed that the Obama administration has been doing much to strengthen the borders and this gives it an opportunity to move forward with a comprehensive immigration reform in early 2010.   According to the Post,

In recent years, the U.S. government has erected more than 600 miles of fencing and pedestrian barriers on the 2,000 mile border with Mexico, and more than doubled the ranks of the U.S. Border Patrol, to 20,000 officers, Napolitano said. Meanwhile, due to a shrinking job market and increased enforcement, Border Patrol arrests last year were less than half the 2005 level of 1.2 million.

While talk of the possibility of immigration reform may be welcome by some groups who have been pushing for such reform in a long time, the Obama administration and Congress have a very dense agenda over the next few months and congressional experts believe that there may not be sufficient time and/or political capital to tackle immigration reform before next year’s mid-term elections.