Opinion: Comprehensive reform comeback comeback
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Congress may have failed to pass comprehensive immigration reform this summer (and last summer), but at least it’s trying to push a few pieces of it, which no one thought possible in this early-onset election year.
The Times’ Nicole Gaouette writes today of the variety of proposals pitched so far, including a plan to give conditional legal status to young illegal immigrants (aka the Dream Act); a path to citizenship for farm workers (aka AgJOBS); and an overhaul of the visa program for high-skilled immigrants. And blogs are abuzz about the bits that make them most mad.
Anti-population growth site Numbers USA says Sen. Richard J. Durbin’s (D-Ill.) Dream Act would birth a million anchor babies. Ever-vigilant LoneWacko weighs in, claiming that the bills add up to a back-door amnesty. Grassroots agitators Grassfire agree and launch a new anti-amnesty campaign, as do the Federation for American Immigration Reform, Immigration Watch Dog, and Eagle Forum. Tammy Bruce is incensed that $25 million will apparently go to La Raza (she fails to note that it’s actually grant money for housing rather than, say, funds to funnel back into pro-immigration lobbying). And lest you think all the activism is on the hardline no-amnesty side, there will be a rally tomorrow in Washington on behalf of high-skilled immigration reform.
Many a conservative blog can’t resist taking a crack at the Larry Craig angle of this story. The Republican senator from Idaho was the primary supporter of AgJOBS in his party. Warren Mass at the John Birch Society points to an interesting twist:
Many conservatives in Idaho, as is indicated by those calling in to Paul J. Schneider’s talk show on Boise radio station KBOI-AM, seem more concerned about Senator Craig’s support of the AgJobs bill than by the latest scandal. And Craig is no reluctant tag-along when it comes to AgJobs, but is among its more strident supporters in the Senate. For example, back in 2004, Craig threatened to attach the Senate version of AgJobs as an amendment to every bill considered in the Senate.... Is Senator Larry Craig guilty of serious immoral behavior? We have no way of knowing, but it is obvious that his judgment and common sense are severely impaired. While this alone should disqualify him from membership in what has been called the ‘world’s most exclusive club,’ those who would unseat him on behavioral grounds alone might point their accusing fingers eastward towards a certain senator infamous for his inability to navigate an automobile across a narrow bridge.The voters of Idaho would be justified, however, in deciding that a senator who advocates giving amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants in our midst does not represent their best interests.
It may be some small solace that Idahoans will forgive a private matter (a senator’s bathroom behavior) and focus on a public one (a senator’s behavior in the Senate), even if, either way, they’re expressing a desire to keep millions of people hidden -- whether it’s in the closet or the shadows.