Analysis: Where Is Immigration Policy Headed?

By Special Contributor Larry Kane

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – The White House and Congress are about to get serious about immigration legislation.

If you want heated debate, just mention the word immigration. It was the subject of a conversation we had with three experts on the subject including local attorney Mathew Hersch, member of the American Immigration Council.

"You have a system in which you have eligible immigrants - people who are the brothers and sisters of United States citizens, sons and daughters of U.S. citizens - who are waiting in a line that stretches not years but decades. That's not an effective system and in fact it drives undocumented immigration.

Don Pak is a member of the Pennsylvania Immigration Coalition and talks about the futility of time passing and the sadness of inaction.

"I think it's pretty clear not just the White House but with the Republican Party something has to be done and that's been said many times over. There are people here in the United States well past a decade now. Some have been here 20-30 years. I have clients that have been here 20 plus years and have not had their Green Card or other status."

Listen to interviews: