High-powered panel pushes immigration overhaul
Immigration took a back seat during last year's presidential campaign, when Barack Obama and John McCain generally agreed for the need for sweeping change, including a path to citizenship for some illegal immigrants -- once the borders are secure.
It isn't on the front burner now, as the Obama administration focuses on healthcare and energy.
But a bipartisan panel put together by the respected Council on Foreign Relations tried today to put the issue back on the national agenda, issuing a report that argues that comprehensive immigration reform is needed now and failure to pass it "threatens to weaken America's economy, to jeopardize its diplomacy, and to imperil its national security."
The report (read it here) was issued by a task force that included former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and former Clinton White House Chief of Staff Thomas "Mack" McLarty.
Immigration overhaul advocates praised the report.
"That fact that the Council on Foreign Relations is examining U.S. immigration policy is a clear signal that immigration is now regarded as a matter of national security and international diplomacy, not only a domestic policy concern with broad economic implications," Mary Giovagnoli, director of the Immigration Policy Center, said in a statement.
"The Council on Foreign Relations' report states unequivocally that comprehensive immigration reform is not only good for America, but vital to our national interests. The report places the debate over comprehensive reform in a broader context, challenging Congress and the White House to move forward now on a sensible and thoughtful reform of our broken immigration system. The fact that a diverse group of leaders representing a range of political perspectives can reach consensus on immigration reform is not only a good sign, but an indication of just how critical immigration has become in efforts to maintain America's political, economic, and moral leadership in the world."
“The recommendations of this high-powered, diverse and bipartisan panel clearly underscore the urgent need for fundamental immigration reform if we are to make our nation stronger, more competitive and more secure," added Frank Sharry, executive director of America’s Voice. “The political middle ground is rapidly forming for all parties to come together and fix a problem that has festered too long. The American people are demanding a political solution to this vexing problem and they want it done now. This report reinforces the growing acceptance that through immigration reform we can advance our national security, help our economy and restore the rule of law in a way that is fair and just.”
The issue did rise up during the Republican primaries, where McCain found himself under attack from competitors for his sponsorship of a comprehensive bill that he championed with Senator Edward M. Kennedy, but that floundered in 2007 despite President George W. Bush's backing in the face of vehement opposition.
Today, the Senate voted to require real fencing along 700 miles of the border with Mexico rather than vehicle barriers and high-tech equipment, the Associated Press reports.
The plan won approval by a 54-44 vote during consideration of the Department of Homeland Security's budget.
Senator Jim DeMint, a South Carolina Republican who pushed the proposal, said that the US-Mexico border "has become a battleground" as drug and weapons traffickers, along with illegal immigrants, move too freely and that "virtual" fencing such as motion detectors doesn't work as well as a real fence, the AP says.
UPDATE: Meanwhile, the lead Democrat working on immigration in the Senate told the AP today that he expects to have a bill ready by Labor Day that is more generous to higher-skilled immigrant workers and that cracks down on future illegal immigration.
Senator Chuck Schumer of New York said an immigration deal can be done by early next year. "I think we'll have a good bill by Labor Day," he told the AP. "I think the fundamental building blocks are in place to do comprehensive immigration reform."
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How long does it take to build a fence? This has been going on for decades
"Securing the border" is nonsense. It's too expansive, and who want's to live in a place with such strict policing of borders, what is this Russia?
The problem is very easily solved, yet the solution is never going to happen. All that needs to be done it to heavily fine anyone that employs illegal aliens, not just a slap on the wrist, but enough to put them out of business. The illegals will simply go home on their own, there will be nothing here for them to do. It's working in Arizona. The politicians do nothing because corporate lobbyists say, we want lower wages, we want to employ without benefits, etc. don't do anything about illegal immigration.
"Securing the border" is nonsense. It's too expansive, and who want's to live in a place with such strict policing of borders, what is this Russia?
The problem is very easily solved, yet the solution is never going to happen. All that needs to be done it to heavily fine anyone that employs illegal aliens, not just a slap on the wrist, but enough to put them out of business. The illegals will simply go home on their own, there will be nothing here for them to do. It's working in Arizona. The politicians do nothing because corporate lobbyists say, we want lower wages, we want to employ without benefits, etc. don't do anything about illegal immigration.
It's about time people get a fire in teh bellies about this. We'ev already been caught with our pants down on 9/11.
Getaclueamerica has a good point.
If we heavily fine the businesses hiring illegals and actively seek out those which employ them maybe we stand a chance. Patroling a very long border north and south is not only impossible but also expensive. The fines should be implemented along with deportation of the parties involved. Most illegals pay someone to shag them over the border. A few deportations and it becomes expensive to get here.
This is not just about entering a country illegally it is also about once here utilizing public assistance and services while sending billions of dollars back to the native
country. These are dollars which never get put back into the US economy which is what working is all about.
ENOUGH is ENOUGH
We loose on both ends ENOUGH ENOUGH