Senate Democrats' plan highlights nation's shift to the right on immigration

[pampango]

Source: Washington Post

As protesters in 80 U.S. cities demanded an overhaul Saturday of the nation's immigration laws, fueled in part by anger over a measure enacted two weeks ago in Arizona, a new proposal by Senate Democrats shows how far the debate has shifted to the right since Congress took up the issue in 2007, advocates on both sides said.

The Democrats' legislative "framework" includes a slew of new immigration enforcement measures aimed at U.S. borders and workplaces. It would further expand the 20,000-member Border Patrol; triple fines against U.S. employers that hire illegal immigrants; and, most controversially, require all American workers -- citizens and non-citizens alike -- to get new Social Security cards linked to their fingerprints to ease work eligibility checks.

The plan's emphasis on "securing the border first" before taking steps to allow many of an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants living in the United States to pay fines and apply for legal status was plainly a gesture to Republicans. Even so, no Republican is supporting it, not even Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), who has been working with Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) in bipartisan talks over the issue for months. Ideas that were hotly contested in ill-fated Senate debates in 2006 and 2007 seem now to be taken for granted, said Edward Alden, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. "You've seen a lot of movement, and in partisan terms mostly movement on the Democratic side toward Republican positions," he said.

The shift is troubling to labor strategists and immigrant advocates, who for years have seen accepting tougher enforcement as a concession that would allow them to attain their goal of bringing illegal workers and their families out of the shadows. "Why would a conservative vote for something if they are already getting what they want?" said Ali Noorani, a lead organizer of Saturday's national demonstrations to hold President Obama to his 2008 campaign promise to take action.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/01/AR2010050100990.html?hpid=topnews

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Maybe Obama is smart to delay immigration reform. If Democrat are moving "toward Republican positions" like ""securing the border first" before taking steps to allow many of an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants living in the United States to pay fines and apply for legal status", is would be pointless to do any "reform".

"Border security" is an impossible goal (like total safety from terrorism), so the repubs can keep calling for the same thing for years into the future and fear will work its magic to stop substantive reform. Kind of like the sacrifices many citizens are willing to buy for the sake of the elusive "perfect safety from terrorism". Fear - the republicans' secret card that trumps all. Mexicans coming - be afraid, build the wall higher, more troops, arrest 'em, deport 'em. They keep coming - be more afraid, build the wall higher, more troops, arrest 'em, deport 'em. Terrorists out there - be afraid, kill 'em, invade their territory, "drone" 'em. They keep coming - be more afraid, kill 'em, invade their territory, "drone" 'em. The wall and the gun solve all problems.

I had hoped that proposing comprehensive reform would give the change for republicans to expose themselves as xenophobic bigots they mostly are with the constant mantra of "more money on border security", higher walls, more troops, etc, but if Democrats are drifting right toward republican positions that won't work. Maybe better to wait for "some time in the future" when the economy is better (I know, the economy was better in 2007 and the repubs stopped it then), to try to reform immigration comprehensively. Until then we'll have to just play the republican 'border security' game. :(