The Boston Bombing's Impact on Comprehensive Immigration Reform

April 23, 2013: Last Monday's bombing of the Boston Marathon was a horrific act that claimed the lives of three people, injured well over 200 more, and disrupted a major US city for well over 3 days. In addition to disrupting the lives of hundreds of thousands of Bostonians, the bombings have cast a dark shadow on proposed comprehensive immigration reform, with some pundits claiming this could derail the whole process. This is due to the fact that the suspected bombers are from Dagestan and of Chechen descent, two very volatile and restive neighboring federal republics in Russia. The suspected bombers came to the US in the early 2000's seeking asylum, which was ultimately granted, with one of the bombers, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, actually naturalizing into an American citizen. Some lawmakers have claimed that the new proposed comprehensive immigration reform could lead to more security lapses and allow more would-be-terrorists into the country.

On Monday, in committee hearings over the immigration bill, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) accused opponents of the bill as to trying to exploit the bombings in order to derail comprehensive immigration reform. "Last week, opponents of comprehensive immigration reform began to exploit the Boston Marathon bombing" said Sen. Leahy, adding "I urge restraint in that regard...Let no one be so cruel as to use the heinous attacks of these two young men to derail the dreams and futures of millions of hard-working people."

His accusations were met angrily by Senate Republicans, with Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) arguing "I want you to take note of the fact that when you proposed gun legislation, I didn't accuse you of using the killings (referring to the shootings at Sandyhook Elementary School in Connecticut) as an excuse."

I've always believed there was going to be a fierce debate about comprehensive immigration reform, but adding this latest US terrorist attack into the mix, certainly muddies any eventual outcome. Immigration has always been a hot-button issue. From claims by unemployed American workers, to fears of crime, to questioning an immigrant's ability to assimilate and embrace American culture and traditions, there has always been plenty of avenues to oppose liberalizing immigration policies. But to have a major terrorist attack occur on US soil, the very week that Senators introduced a proposed immigration reform bill, is sure to galvanize opponents of comprehensive immigration reform and give them more ammunition to oppose a reformation of US immigration law.

I will continue to blog about the uncertain path to comprehensive immigration reform, along with other important news and developments concerning immigration law. In the meantime, if you have an immigration matter that requires a lawyer's services, please call 949-440-3240 or visit www.kpimmigrationlaw.com.