Supreme Court will act on immigration, even if Congress doesn't

Congress largely has shied away from serious immigration debate since 2007, when a comprehensive legalization and border security package faded in the Senate. The last Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on immigration was in May, and the full Senate declined in September to consider a major legalization bill.

The last House Judiciary Committee immigration hearings were in September, one of them headlined by Comedy Central satirist Stephen Colbert.

Nonetheless, some lawmakers hope the lame-duck Congress can pass a bill before Republicans regain House control in January. One proposal, called the DREAM Act, would legalize an estimated 1.1 million illegal immigrant students and others through the year 2020. Another proposal, dubbed AgJobs, would legalize an estimated 1.5 million farm workers and their family members.

Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California has suggested combining the two proposals, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has spoken of bringing up an immigration package this month. Still, the prospects for anything but for a symbolic showing before the 111th Congress adjourns appear unlikely.

"It seems like they're not going to come up with the 60 votes (necessary)," AgJobs supporter Rep. Jim Costa, D-Calif., conceded, looking at the Senate.