Immigration moves up the Washington agenda: the movement to reform America's broken immigration system has been gaining steam in recent months. President Bush has told Congress he wants to see action this year and both Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) and House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) have publicly stated that they expect to consider legislation soon.

As the co-chair of the Essential Worker Immigration Coalition, (EWIC.org), the International Franchise Association has been a leader on this issue in an attempt to ensure franchisees and franchisors have the workers they need to operate and grow their businesses.

EWIC has endorsed the Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act, a bipartisan proposal introduced by Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Edward Kennedy (D-Mass). The bill seeks to gain control of our borders by creating a guest worker program for businesses that cannot find American workers and a mechanism for many of the undocumented working in the economy to earn permanent legal status. The bill would also step up enforcement of the revamped laws and increase border protections.

They say "politics makes strange bedfellows" and nowhere is that more true than in the complex and controversial case of immigration policy. In addition to the business community, the McCain-Kennedy bill has won support from a wide array of groups including the Service Employees International Union, the National Council of La Raza, and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

But even with such a broad coalition of interests in support of immigration reform, its chances are unclear. The president has spoken about the need for reform in general terms, but has not backed a specific bill. In Congress, opinions vary widely: some would institute a moratorium on immigration while others seek to substantially increase immigration. Some have proposed deportation of the estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants, and others seek to substantially increase raids and fines on business, but provide no mechanism for those businesses to get the workers they need.

It is a volatile debate, and the International Franchise Association and the Essential Worker Immigration Coalition will continue to strongly advocate for a solution that addresses the interests of franchisees and franchisors.

For information, contact IFA Vice Pres., Government Relations John Gay at 202-662-0768.