In Seattle, in the lobby of City Hall, immigration advocates applauded the national legislative effort, but said, in various ways: There are still a few flies in the ointment.

Gathered together for a March 26 press conference, nine advocates — affiliated with non-profits, religious organizations, and county governance — found themselves largely supportive of a new House bill. But, standing behind a podium bearing a sign that read “Immigrant Rights are Human Rights,” nearly each member of the group seasoned an endorsement of the legislation with a sprinkle of caution.

“If America is to be strong and vibrant,” proclaimed Pramila Jayapal, executive director of Hate Free Zone, “then we must have an immigration system” that works. Jayapal said the bill has in its favor significant reforms of employment- and family-based visas, which have a current backlog of some 3.5 million people who’ve already made legal applications.

Also of note, she continued, was a conditional nonimmigrant visa that would be valid for six years, as long as the applicant fulfilled a legal reentry requirement. (Often called a “touchback provision,” an applicant would have to exit and then reenter the country through any port of entry.)

But troubling to Jayapal was the bill’s call for the creation of a large database, to be overseen by the Department of Homeland Security, that employees could use to verify the legal status of employees. How, she wondered, would the system be tested? “And if there’s a dispute between workers and employers, then where do people turn?” she asked. These were questions, she suggested, the bill did not resolve.

Introduced in the House by Reps. Luis Guiterrez (D-IL) and Jeff Flake (R-AZ), the bipartisan bill found itself with 29 sponsors by the time it hit the floor on March 22. Called the STRIVE Act — the monosyllabic acronym for Security Through Regularized Immigration and a Vibrant Economy Act of 2007 — it’s the first comprehensive immigration reform bill introduced into the new Democratically-controlled Congress.

Rosalinda Guillen, executive director of the Bellingham-based Community to Community, said that, living in a border community, she’s heard of many workers who experience fear and intimidation through current enforcement actions. Of concern to her and to community members, she said, was the bill’s provision to create more detention facilities — 20 more nationally, adding 20,000 beds. How would such provisions, even those that would benefit workers, she asked, be paid for? “There have to be federally funded mandates,” she said. “Otherwise, it’s just talk.”

And a whole lot of paper. Coming in at 697 pages, the bill touches upon such issues as: reports on deaths at the United States-Mexico border; biometric data enhancement, pertaining to the identification of humans through such means as fingerprints, facial patterns, and retinas; incarceration of human aliens; and even increased penalties related to drunk driving.

King County Executive Ron Sims said that whether discussions existed on the city, county, or state level, it was impossible to talk about the growing economy without talking about immigration. The nation, he added, needed to value the skills of all people, if it wanted to stay competitive in the global marketplace. “The key for me,” said Sims, alluding to his extended family from the Philippines, “is the pathway to citizenship.”

Immigration, though not necessarily expressed in relation to its reform, remains a critical issue for most in the country. A Harris Poll released in February found that 55 percent of its respondents felt threatened by the arrival of a “large number of illegal immigrants” into the country. Yet a March USA Today/Gallup Poll revealed that 59 percent of those asked believed undocumented workers already in the country could remain, if they met “certain requirements,” which were not identified.

While largely pleased with the House bill, Jayapal called on the U.S. Senate to introduce its own immigration reform bill, which she hoped would come as soon as April or May.