Bad Policy and Bad Politics on Immigration
Fred Barnes is right about this:
There's a distinction to be made here between opposing the immigration reform bill that died in the Senate several weeks ago and the obsessive emphasis by Republicans since then on unlawful immigration. There were legitimate reasons for seeking to defeat the bill, though I favored it. But now the heated talk about illegals has drifted into demagoguery.
Some of the concern expressed on the right about illegal immigration represents legitimate interests of the country in the rule of law and the security of the nation. However, some of the rhetoric is nothing more than jingoism. It is bad for the Republican Party -- and it is bad for the country.
Besides, part of the illegal immigration problem has come about due to the inadequacies of current immigration law and oversight. The nation needs a comprehensive reform plan that is serious about both enforcement and about the immigration needs of the nation.
There's a distinction to be made here between opposing the immigration reform bill that died in the Senate several weeks ago and the obsessive emphasis by Republicans since then on unlawful immigration. There were legitimate reasons for seeking to defeat the bill, though I favored it. But now the heated talk about illegals has drifted into demagoguery.
Some of the concern expressed on the right about illegal immigration represents legitimate interests of the country in the rule of law and the security of the nation. However, some of the rhetoric is nothing more than jingoism. It is bad for the Republican Party -- and it is bad for the country.
Besides, part of the illegal immigration problem has come about due to the inadequacies of current immigration law and oversight. The nation needs a comprehensive reform plan that is serious about both enforcement and about the immigration needs of the nation.
posted by MCO at 7:19 PM
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