Acting head of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Jonathan Scharfen, has promised several changes to the USCIS bureaucracy that would help speed-up the legalization and naturalization process.

While Scharfen claims that the USCIS is working on resolving the problem of backlogs in citizenship applications and background checks, he has also noted that moving from a paper-based bureaucracy to a computer age is the "ultimate solution." Indeed, computerizing applications would make the task faster and much more efficient, decreasing misplacement of documents and increasing effective communication. 

The USCIS seems to be gearing up for a change in administration and immigration policies. They have secured a "transformation" contract to modernize to an electronic system and get in touch with the 21st century.

"And we want to make sure that's in good shape, so when the new administration comes in, we're up and running and that contract is on the right track."

For now, to deal with the backlog, FBI and the USCIS has spent another $35 million to hire new workers and contractors. Scharfen estimates that by June 2009, the average time for an FBI background check would be 30 days, down from the 2 years it takes right now.

The big question is whether USCIS can deal with the legalization of 12.5 million undocumented immigrants. This is what Scharfen said: 

Yes, but the government needs to build an infrastructure to handle that many applications, Scharfen says. "We've asked our ombudsman to look, and to do a study precisely on that, so when the new administration comes in, they'll have in hand an independent evaluation just on that issue --- as to whether we'd be able to handle that large influx of applications."

Sounds like those hypothesizing about the dire effects of the DREAM Act on immigration backlogs cannot make such claims. The problem is an issue of fiat as is the enforcement of any other law--the government just needs to build the necessary infrastructure. If anything, the passage of DREAM and CIR would lead to the creation of new jobs. In the long run, increased consumer spending and government income from taxation only helps the economy.