This past weekend the US Congress passed a bill to reform the country’s health care system. It must now be merged with legislation in the Senate and pass through an additional vote in that house.

One aspect of the bill rarely mentioned in the past week, but which attracted scrutiny, is health care coverage for legal and “illegal” immigrants. The issue rose to the forefront of public conscience during President Obama’s speech to Congress in September. Joe Wilson, a Congressman from South Carolina, shouted “You lie!” after Obama stated that Democrats did not intend for “illegal” immigrants to receive health care coverage. (Note: Please see my posting here that discusses terminology.)

Concerns over spending finite resources on health care for undocumented persons are understandable, though the numbers are not as large as one might be led to believe from the media. While the country’s undocumented population remains substantial, statistics show that less than one in 11 of the uninsured is an “illegal” immigrant.

A report by the Migration Policy Institute details those immigrants who would and would not be covered. Some Representatives want to withhold health benefits from legal immigrants who have lived in the US for less than five years, affecting more than 1 of the 4.2 million uninsured permanent residents.

Given that these green card holders reside legally in the US and may one day be citizens, it seems more than reasonable that they too should be able to pay for and receive health insurance.

Getting health care right is important. So too, is immigration reform. The uncertainties on coverage would be less complicated if the United States had successfully solved its immigration quandary. The Obama administration considers this a priority, and should health care reform pass successfully, immigration policy is on the docket for 2010.

If you were looking for a reprieve from the town hall meetings and tea parties marked by with emotion and rhetoric, don’t hold your breath. Immigration debates, here we come.

Next year the Obama administration will likely push for comprehensive immigration reform that legalizes millions who are currently in the United States without documentation. The US has an estimated 11 million “illegal immigrants”, representing approximately 3% of the total population. (Note: Please see a clarification on terminology below.)

This is an astonishing number. Albeit the immigrants are not evenly distributed across each state or region, consider this mental exercise. The typical Major League baseball game draws nearly 30,000 fans. Imagine that the next time you got to the ballpark, statistically speaking, you are cheering alongside nearly 1,000 undocumented persons.

The debate on granting citizenship to “illegal immigrants” aside, one major roadblock to changing documentation is the capacity of the major government agency charged with this role, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The agency is working to put a system in place that will allow it to speed its processing capacity. A New York Times article provides further insight into these preparations.

When President Bush raised immigration reform in 2007 it drew enormous attention from proponents and opponents nationwide. No doubt USCIS is aware of this, and therefore “officials have held meetings around the country in recent weeks to gather suggestions from the public for the overhaul”. It appears that 2010 holds the promise of more rallies and rhetoric about US immigration policy.

At present, Obama is already finding it challenging to pass new health care legislation. Once it is over, how much political capital will he still have to tackle immigration? No doubt, each remain critical issues for the United States in the 21^st century.

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Terminology: As an aside, the correct terminology for use in this case is actually irregular migrant, which does not have such a negative connotation, and separates the individual, the migrant, from an action, illegal entry. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) defines irregular migrants as persons who move to a new location by means of irregular or illegal methods, without officially recognized documentation. These irregular migrants are not illegal people, but may indeed be in another country illegally. For further analysis on the debate over terms, please see this article within Migraciones Internacionales.