A special election was held on January 19, 2009 to fill the Senate seat left vacant by the late Edward Kennedy. Although this was a Massachusetts special election, people from Columbus, Ohio to Troy, Michigan and all across the United States watched intently as Republican attorney Scott Brown defeated the democratic front-runner, Martha Coakley. Some have declared that his election did away with the filibuster-proof majority of Congressional Democrats and, with it, any chance of immigration reform. The election of Scott Brown may have been a surprise, but should by no means be considered the end of any possibility of immigration reform in the United States.
It is true that today's contentious political climate has fostered a system where a party change in one single Senate seat could potentially jeopardize the passage of much needed reforms, including immigration. While campaigning for Congress, Scott Brown's statements regarding immigration policy focused on stripping rights for illegal immigrants and combating illegal immigration through enhanced border security. His legacy as a Massachusetts State Senator includes the introduction of legislation that, if passed, would have required foreign nationals to provide proof of work authorization to pursue a wage enforcement action against a U.S. employer. Unfortunately, such laws are short-sighted and fail to recognize that preventing wage enforcement actions could serve to embolden U.S. employers that hire and take advantage of undocumented workers.
However, Scott Brown's record as a U.S. Senator is yet to be established and, regardless of whether he is ultimately a proponent or opponent of immigration reform, he is but one vote. Comprehensive immigration reform, before and after the election of Scott Brown, needs to be a bi-partisan effort -- with the support of Democrats, Republicans and Independents alike. The President did not dedicate much of his State of the Union Address to immigration reform, but he did urge Congress to "continue the work of fixing our broken immigration system - to secure our borders, enforce our laws so that everyone who plays by the rules can contribute to our economy and enrich our nation." Hopefully, the members of Congress will heed the President's words -- remembering that the United States is a "nation made up of immigrants from every corner of the globe" and "neither party should delay or obstruct every single bill just because they can" -- and work towards passing positive immigration reforms in the upcoming year.
