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April 10, the day of the enormous immigrant march on Washington felt like Christmas Eve, I was on Capitol Hill in Washington in beaming sun and 85 degree temperature amidst long lines and hustle-bustle of people from all over the country calling on their congress members. I had appointments with Senators Brian Schatz and Mazie Hirono where I was joined by Hawai’i’s son Bruce Yamashita. Our mission was to confirm our support for Comprehensive Immigration Reform and to convince them to fight hard for Hawai’i’s chief interests in the bill, especially family unity.

That afternoon I wove my way through a crowd exceeding100,000 until I reached the stage where I stood with other religious leaders from a variety of faith communities in a show of support. Anticipation was high, enthusiasm was electric and hope was buoyant throughout the crowd. We had come with insistent expectation that justice be done in a democratic way to guarantee civil rights and opportunities for immigrants. What a privilege to be among that huge crowd of prospective new Americans and long-time citizens.

This week Christmas Day finally arrived with the release of a bill by the Senate bipartisan Gang of Eight on April 17. They deserve our appreciation for hanging together throughout their major disagreements until they reached a fair compromise. They were determined to deliver a fix to our badly broken immigration system. There is a lot of excess packaging, but in it are some real gems for us to celebrate and protect. I am reminded of the boy who rushed downstairs Christmas morning to find a pile of horse manure under the tree; immediately he jumped in and started digging while calling out, “I know there’s a pony under here somewhere”. Let the analogy break down here, but let’s value the good in this bill and all pitch in to help our congress members improve the parts we don’t like.

We did get an expedited pathway for spouses and minor children to quickly join their lawful permanent resident family member while at the same time freeing up more visas for others in the long waiting line. Other family members already in the petition process will not be deleted and there is an 18 month window for their U.S.relatives to file petitions. After that adult married children older than 31 and siblings will be excluded from family reunification visa category, but they have other options through the merit point system. Senator Mazie Hirono deserves our appreciation and cooperation for her strong leadership in the Judiciary Committee on behalf of families. Lucky for us she sits on that committee.

The 13 year long pathway for undocumented persons already in the country as of December 31, 2011 is a slow process, but they will be protected as Registered Provisional Immigrants (RPI) with the right to work and pay taxes. Fines and fees will be incurred at each stage of the process. I am concerned that they not be hunted down, detained and deported from the present time until RPI kicks in six months after enactment of the bill. It seems unfair that these people who will be working and paying taxes, some already doing so, will not be eligible for benefits until they qualify for green cards ten years later.

The triggers related to border security and other forms of enforcement will be difficult to achieve, therefore jeopardizing the implementation of family unity measures and other measures in our interest. We must do all we can from this moment until enactment to make sure the positive measures stand firm and the harmful ones are improved.

We have a good bill, not perfect, but the best possible under the circumstances. It’s the kind of bipartisanship that I wish we’d see more of. This bill goes a long way to increase national security, support our economy and return to who we are as a compassionate and just people. I call on my fellow Hawai’i residents to join us in the long, hard struggle to reach the achievable goal already in sight.

About the author: The Rev. Stan Bain is a United Methodist pastor in Hawai’i for 37 years currently serving as a Community Organizer for FACE. He has been organizing for civil rights for immigrants since 2008.