Biden Goes Big on Immigration and Dares GOP to Stop Him
Biden Goes Big on Immigration and Dares GOP to Stop Him
NEW WINE, NEW JAR
Biden’s proposal is premised on the belief that after Trump’s inhumane policies, Americans are ready for real reform. It’d be nice to think he’s right.
Ruben Navarrette Jr.
Updated Feb. 06, 2021 3:06AM ET / Published Feb. 06, 2021 12:14AM ET
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On the one hand, his immigration reform bill looks like past bills because it’s built around the same big-ticket item: a path to U.S. citizenship for the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants currently living in the United States. Previous legislation has suggested that the path should be as long as 12 years, but Biden wants to cut it to eight. That idea alone is enough to keep Congress preoccupied, and feuding, over the next few months. Democrats will talk about lifting people “from the shadows” and giving them a chance to contribute further to America, while Republicans will talk about “amnesty” and upholding “the rule of law.”
But what’s missing from the Biden bill are the kinds of sticks and carrots that formed the foundation of previous stabs at immigration reform. Where are the guest workers, to get the support of pro-business Republicans? Has anyone seen the employer sanctions that are usually in these bills to win over the votes of pro-labor Democrats who often oppose reform efforts because unions fear competition from newly legalized immigrant workers? What about the low-hanging fruit that usually attracts support from both Republicans and Democrats, i.e. increased border security?
These are the kinds of things that are usually considered—along with legalization, regularization, amnesty, whatever you want to call it—the essential components of comprehensive immigration reform. They get included in legislative proposals so they can be haggled over and negotiated away and used as lures to attract support.
The fact that they’re not part of Biden’s bill tells me one of three things. One, maybe the administration doesn’t think the bill is going to pass anyway, and so the White House isn’t bothering to include all the trimmings. Two, maybe the White House—with an eye toward protecting vulnerable congressional Democrats who have to stand for reelection in 2022—doesn’t want the bill to pass, and this is all a show to placate immigration reform activists.
Or three, there may be some really smart people on Biden’s team who understand that, in years past, it was those horse-trading items that often gummed up the works and kept immigration bills from passing. Leaving the sweeteners out may increase the chance the bill will pass because the sweeteners are often divisive—both in Congress, and the public as a whole—and they ignite the special interests who then get into the sandbox and make the whole process of passing the bill more partisan, polarized, and poisonous.
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