They'll be praying a novena in Chicago and conducting a religious cleansing ceremony at the Washington headquarters of the immigration enforcement agency.

Elsewhere, advocates for comprehensive immigration reform will be ramping up their lobbying with members of Congress and the new administration, pushing for quick action on President-elect Barack Obama's promise to deal with the problems of immigration within his first year in office.

As soon as possible they're looking for changes in the government's policies in areas such as immigrant detention; employer requirements to match workers with Social Security numbers; due process rights; household and workplace raids; and the treatment of minors and families picked up for immigration violations.

Policies in those areas can be changed by Obama and his appointees heading federal agencies such as Homeland Security and the Justice Department, said Kevin Appleby, director of immigration and refugee policy for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Migration and Refugee Services.

In Chicago the week before the Jan. 20 inauguration, a group of more than 200 priests together with nuns from 34 religious orders were to announce their participation in a novena focused on justice for immigrants. They also were to issue a call to Obama and his administration to immediately suspend deportations that separate family members and ask for a comprehensive reform bill.

The day after the inauguration, more than 200 religious leaders are expected to participate in a "cleansing ceremony" in Washington at the headquarters of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

"Immigration practices in this country have been undermined by severe and deep constitutional and human rights violations," said Rabbi David Shneyer, director of Am Kolel Sanctuary and Renewal Center at a Jan. 8 press conference about the ceremony. "Now is a time for healing and renewal."

Also Jan. 8 in a teleconference organized by the National Immigration Forum, Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles urged Obama to quickly take advantage of the political capital he currently enjoys with Congress and the American public and tackle the big issue of comprehensive reform.

"We learned in 1986 the downside of trying to do something piecemeal," Cardinal Mahony said. That year a bill passed creating an amnesty program for people who were in the country illegally. "They said they'd get to the other pieces later, and they never did. By doing it piecemeal, we run the risk of never getting it done."

Cardinal Mahony and other advocates for comprehensive reform have been down this road many times before --- full of optimism that "this time" the combination of political support, public sentiment and coordination among wide-ranging interest groups was sufficient to smooth the way for a law to fix fundamental flaws in the U.S. immigration system.

Time and again over the last decade, that optimism has proved to be misplaced, as bills foundered. Some failed because of legislative maneuvers by opponents, others due more to shallow commitment by members of Congress from both parties who were worried about re-election.

Meanwhile, under orders from the administration to tighten up on enforcement, federal agencies cracked down on immigration violations with workplace and residential raids. A wall along sections of the Mexican border grew longer and the Border Patrol swelled in size. Finally, states and cities began enacting their own laws in an effort to head off local problems some people believed were caused by illegal immigration.

Outgoing President George W. Bush supported a comprehensive reform approach. Proposals he backed would have addressed the years-long backlogs of people waiting to enter the country legally, given the chance to legalize their status to an estimated 12 million people here without permission, and created new programs to admit workers when needed.

But even in combination with House and Senate Democratic leaders who backed comprehensive reform, that wasn't enough to overcome the power of a vocal minority who persuaded members of Congress their jobs were in danger if they did anything but focus on border enforcement.

As Obama prepares to take office and the House and Senate convene with stronger Democratic majorities, the advocates point to new factors giving them hope: Obama's choices for his Cabinet and White House staff, and election results reflecting his overwhelming support among immigrants and Hispanic voters who put high priority on fixing immigration.

Ali Noorani, director of the National Immigration Forum, told Catholic News Service he has participated in several meetings with Obama's transition staff. He said he was impressed by the breadth of their interest in all the facets of immigration.

Though he had no clear sense of what administrative actions might be taken and how quickly, "I am very confident they are doing the work necessary to deal with this soon," he said.

Noorani also was struck by the wide range of groups whose thoughts on immigration were being sought, ranging from activists like himself to employers, state and local elected officials and law enforcement officers, he said.

And Noorani said he's especially encouraged by the nominations of Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano to head the Department of Homeland Security; Rep. Hilda Solis, D-Calif., to be secretary of labor; and Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., to head the State Department. A career advocate for immigrants, Cecilia Munoz of the National Council of La Raza, has been named to head intergovernmental affairs for the White House.

Napolitano is "a brilliant pick" for Homeland Security, said Noorani, because she understands the balance among enforcement needs, employment demands and a humanitarian approach to reuniting families. Solis "understands the worker protection issues of immigration like no one else," he said and will be an advocate for immigrants in the workplace.

Even Clinton's role at the State Department could be helpful for immigrants, said Noorani. "We should be engaging the issue as one of migration," he said, addressing in foreign policy discussions some of the reasons why people leave their homelands and how governments can better handle migrant flows.

To address hardline opposition to immigration reform --- the kind that stresses penalties and imprisonment for undocumented citizens --- Cardinal Mahony noted that "we are most successful when we can put a human face on the issue," and counter the immigrant stereotypes that are too often portrayed.

The bottom line, said the conference call participants is that 2009 --- in the words of Cardinal Mahony --- "is a very pivotal year" in the effort to achieve meaningful immigration reform. "It's important to get this done in a time when there is less ant-immigrant rhetoric," he said. "We need vision and courageous leadership from the new president and the new Congress."

---CNS