Originally posted by Edison
You are wrong. In general, GOP support legal immigration because of their contacts with corporate world and Democrats support legalizing illegal immigrants and other illegal immigration reforms. Even the bill HR 3271 is mostly for illegal immigrants. Obviously there are some exceptions.
Of-course, corporate interests are best served when this system is backlogged beyond repair as this is likely to ensure an enduring supply of cheap bonded labor. Extending that logic, there is every reason not to expect congress, as long as control remains in republican hands, to support any reform of the AOS system.
On the other hand, the Democrats are in bed with the lawyer lobby. The immigration lawyers do not stand to benefit much from illegals, asylum seekers, refugees etc. as much of this work is pro bono and what little fees they do get are calculated at court / government mandated rates, which, unsurprisingly, are not even adequate to keep the lights on. So the Democrats can, at little cost to their lawyer constituency, promote legalization of illegals, and happily provide special immigration windows for Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Indo-China etc. etc. It should come as no surprise, hence, that the fees-rich employment-based adjustment-of-status applicant population has no friends among Democratic lawmakers either.
There are only two ways out of this logjam - a concerted, well-funded lobbying initiative or a lawsuit forcing INS/Congress to comply with their statutory mandate. From all indications, neither of these seems to be a palatable / feasible course of action. The third alternative then is to retain some modicum of self-respect and chill, with the realization that we are where we are because of our propensity for mammon-worship, and eventually hope to find another bidder who will pay more for our servitude.