http://www.caller.com/news/2010/dec/05/dream-act-would-take-courage-pass-it-wont/Count immigration reform dead on arrival in the new Congress that takes over in January. That’s one of the realities of the Nov. 2 election that saw Republicans win the House. Oh, there are plenty of members of the GOP who would support part of immigration reform, such as increasing the number of visas for highly skilled foreign workers of the sort that create patents and drive innovation in corporations. But
in the face of the Tea Party storm, a lot of politicians are playing it safe and retreating from anything that might be twisted into the “A” word — amnesty.But the DREAM Act isn’t about amnesty, it’s not about criminals, and it’s so narrow in scope that it can hardly be called comprehensive immigration reform. It’s more like an act of compassion.
I can understand why many Americans resist any sort of immigration reform. For starters, the 1986 reform act during the Reagan administration was a disaster. Millions of undocumented aliens were made legal pretty much at the sweep of a pen. But that wasn’t the disaster. The failure came in not following through with the whole program, which included employer sanctions for hiring undocumented workers.
What’s missing is political courage. Even those who have supported the bill earlier are now shying away from it; Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, voted for it three years ago, but has now expressed reservations. The bill is expected to be brought to a vote sometime during the lame-duck session.
All those young people who are Americans in everything but name only are counting on some political courage to display itself.
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