Organizers are quick to point out that it is not their intention to bring down the nation to its knees, but rather to focus attention to their critical situation as the U.S. Congress deliberates on a comprehensive immigration reform program.

To begin with, it’s unrealistic to expect that the boycott will make a huge dent on the economy as a whole. Immigrant advocates themselves are divided on this action, some of them saying that it will do more harm than good.

Recent mass demonstrations across the nation have moved lawmakers and policy-makers to take hardline positions, one way or the other. Republican and Democratic legislators are sharply divided on their approaches to immigration reform.

The Senate is inclined to approve a compromise bill that will blaze a trail to citizenship for illegal immigrants already in the country. But the House of Representatives poses a hurdle to any decent immigration reform because of its seemingly implacable stand on criminalizing undocumented workers and residents in this country.

Both parties, facing crucial midterm elections in November, may not be able to reconcile their differences, raising the prospect of a watered down bill that will not be palatable to all concerns, especially the more than 11 million immigrants who live in the shadows.

It seems only President George W. Bush can whip recalcitrant Republicans into line, led by its right wing in both Houses. But the President himself is treading gingerly on the hot-button topic. While he insists on his guest worker plan, he has not sent a strong signal to his troops that he wants immigration reform passed as soon as possible.

Partisanship, regrettably, gets in the way of a compassionate and sensible solution to this festering problem. Democrats share the blame for the impasse in the immigration debate. New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, a longtime friend of immigrants and a potential Democratic presidential contender in 2008, sings a different tune. She now favors a two-tier approach to citizenship and prioritizes tough border security, including fencing target areas.

We have waited long enough to give deserving immigrants their due. Now is the time to do it.