WASHINGTON (CNS) -- In a packed House hearing room Dec. 15, nearly two dozen members of Congress, flanked by dozens of kids wearing T-shirts reading "Future Voter" opened the push for a new comprehensive immigration reform bill.

The legislation -- called Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America's Security and Prosperity Act of 2009, or CIR ASAP -- was unveiled before a roomful of advocates from churches, community groups and others with interests in fixing the current immigration system.

Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., who has shepherded the process of drafting the bill, said the bill would carry the name of Rep. Solomon Ortiz, D-Texas, founder of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

Ryan Dwyer, immigration policy adviser for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, outlined for Catholic News Service some of the differences between the new legislation and previous immigration reform bills:

-- New standards for immigrant detention.

-- No "touchback" provision, which in previous bills would have required undocumented immigrants to return to their home countries to apply for legalization in the U.S.

-- The end of a program that gave local law enforcement agencies the authority to enforce federal immigration laws.

-- A prohibition on creating a national identification card.

-- Provisions allowing spouses and minor children to continue with their applications for naturalization or status adjustment even after the death of the family member that is a U.S. citizen or legal resident.

The bill also calls for a new independent federal commission on immigration and labor markets. This commission would be charged with setting levels of immigration based on employment needs.

A 12-page summary of the bill, which had not yet been formally introduced, includes points on border security, detention standards and employer verification in its enforcement sections.

Once the bill is introduced, it will be submitted to a committee for markup, then moved on to the House floor for consideration. Neither step was expected until after the Christmas recess.

A new postcard campaign in early 2010 will urge Congress to take up as its next priority comprehensive immigration reform that would reunite families, regularize the status of an estimated 12 million people in this country illegally and restore due process protections for immigrants.

"We want to increase Catholic grass-roots support for immigration reform, but we also want to show members of Congress a strong Catholic voice and strong Catholic numbers in support of immigration reform," Antonio Cube, national manager of the U.S. bishops' Justice for Immigrants project, told reporters in November, when the campaign was announced.

It will coincide in most places with the bishops' National Migration Week, Jan. 3-9, although it might be held earlier or later in some dioceses, Cube said. It also is part of a multifaceted interfaith campaign called "Home for the Holidays," designed to stress the family reunification aspect of immigration reform.

In Chicago members of the Catholic Campaign for Immigration Reform, Priests for Justice for Immigrants and the Sisters and Brothers of Immigrants planned to hold a symbolic search for shelter to point to the needs of immigrants Dec. 18.

The event was modeled after "Las Posadas," a 400-year-old custom that re-enacts the quest of Joseph and Mary to find shelter in Bethlehem.

Copyright © 2009 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops