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 Buying Time on ImmigrationPosted on May 4, 2009
By E.J. Dionne On many questions, President Obama’s approach is full speed ahead. On immigration reform, he prefers to take one step at a time. There really is no alternative. Immigration is politically vexed because it splits both parties and scrambles the usual ideological alignments. And on this issue, there is no clear majority. Roughly a third of Americans strongly favor granting illegal immigrants a way to become citizens, while another third are strongly opposed. But there is an ambivalent middle that knows the status quo is unsustainable and wants a comprehensive solution, yet is also upset about the government’s failure to stop illegal immigration. The Obama administration has particular worries of its own. Obama won election with overwhelming support from Latino voters who helped him carry such swing states as New Mexico, Colorado and Nevada. Latino political leaders are appropriately insistent that the president keep his promise to fix immigration and end a system that, in Obama’s words, “keeps those undocumented workers in the shadows.” But the president’s lieutenants are well aware that Obama also won in swing states where there is less sympathy for a path to legalization (Indiana, North Carolina and Ohio), and do not want to throw immigration reform into an already combustible legislative mix. Advertisement On April 9, a front-page headline in The New York Times read: “Obama to Push Immigration Bill as One Priority.” The story spoke of Obama’s plans “to begin addressing the country’s immigration system this year.” It was the sign Latino leaders badly wanted. But note that word “begin.” That’s different from legislating anytime soon, as Obama made clear at his news conference last week. He said all the right things about the urgency of change. “We can’t continue with a broken immigration system,” he argued. “It’s not good for anybody.” Yet his answer lacked the fierce urgency of now. “We want to move this process,” he said, and spoke of the importance of “building confidence.” And then he kicked responsibility over to Congress. “Ultimately,” he said, “I don’t have control of the legislative calendar.” There is much fascination with the role of White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel in crafting the administration’s response. As a Democratic House leader, he was decidedly cautious on immigration reform (to the consternation of Latino organizations), but has emerged recently as a supporter of action—eventually. Emanuel is candid in saying that his angle of vision from the White House is different from the view he needed to take as an adviser to Democrats from highly competitive districts on the politics of the issue. While noting that his own voting record was sympathetic to comprehensive immigration reform, Emanuel observed in an interview that many of his electorally vulnerable Democratic colleagues hailed from areas in which such a position would be unpopular. “My job then was to give them the best political advice I could, given the districts they were representing,” he said. “My job now is to see this issue from a national perspective and from the president’s perspective.” And Emanuel was mightily impressed with the Latino political mobilization in 2008. Yet Emanuel and Obama know that most of those same Democrats still represent competitive seats and continue to worry about the costs of a vote for immigration reform. That’s why the administration has settled on a strategy of slowly building consensus rather than moving fast. Hispanic Democrats have sent a strong signal to the business lobbies. They are saying that until comprehensive reform passes, they will withhold their votes for temporary fixes to raise immigration ceilings for groups of workers sought by particular industries. They hope to pressure business to pressure Republicans to toss more votes immigration reform’s way. The success of immigration reformers will ultimately depend upon winning over those in the ambivalent middle and not treating them as either xenophobes or racists. The core argument for reform must be that the presence of so many illegal migrants without any enforceable rights undermines the rights of everyone else. The real message that a path to citizenship will send is that all long-term residents of our country should be able to assume their responsibilities as Americans. Moving us in that direction is not about doing favors for illegal immigrants. It’s about strengthening the American community. Obama needs to use the time he is buying himself to make that case. E.J. Dionne’s e-mail address is ejdionne(at)washpost.com. Elsewhere: . CommentsAre you a Truthdig member yet? Login now, or register with Truthdig. Add Your Comment
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By tlwinslow, June 17 at 10:07 pm #
Wall, amnesty, ID cards, it’s all a temporary fix only.
The age-old pesky U.S.-Mexico border problem has taxed the resources of both countries, led to long lists of injustices, and appears to be heading only for worse troubles in the future. Guess what? The border problem can never be solved. Why? Because the border IS the problem! It’s time for a paradigm change.
Never fear, a satisfying, comprehensive solution is within reach: the Megamerge Dissolution Solution. Simply dissolve the border along with the failed Mexican government, and megamerge the two countries under U.S. law, with mass free 2-way migration eventually equalizing the development and opportunities permanently, with justice and without racism, and without threatening U.S. sovereignty or basic principles.
To read the details, Google “Megamerge Dissolution Solution”, or click
http://tlwinslow.weebly.com/megamerge-the-dissolution-solution.html
Report thisBy KDelphi, May 12 at 11:42 am #
Most ‘Merkins wouldnt know a true Socialist , if it bit them in their redneck ass…still living in teh Cold War, I guess…they too shall pass…
Report thisBy ardee, May 12 at 6:45 am #
ChrisBieber, May 8 at 9:27 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)
I woudl urge you, Chris, to read about socialism before you continue to rant against a system that does not employ it at all…..
Report thisBy KDelphi, May 12 at 2:28 am #
Before you build a wall, please remember how quickly a wall becomes a cage…
Report thisBy ChrisBieber, May 8 at 9:27 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)
just look at the solutions proposed to “fight” this..
all of them want to create a MORE powerful, MORE Centralized, MORE expensive FEDERAL Militaristic Surveillance Government.
Not what a real advocate of freedom and soveriegnty advocates…but shills of FedGov….and benefactors of Government (stolen)largesse.
The transformation of our Constitutional REPUBLICAN form of government to a European socialist mishmash and legal mix is destroying whatever individual freedoms we Americans have left.
Monitoring businesses, National Identity Cards, international database mergers, and the multicultural mess and its results on our culture, education, and legal system.
The xenophobics and the corporate socialists have a “good” thing going..for themselves…. Stop condoning thier statist agenda and stop throwing gas(laws and bigotry) on the problem with your “solutions”
Report thisChris in SoCal…...who deals with the results of this socialism every day at my job at ICE….and the taxbite for the existing and growing socialism from my paycheck.
By howie bledsoe, May 7 at 6:29 am #
(Unregistered commenter)
Dont forget that Obamas close relative, (I cant recall if it was a nephew or cousin or what) was deported back to Kenya, so this will be a sticky one for him. If he is too tough, he will look bad to the lefties, and if he is too lax, he will look bad to the righties.
Report thisBy KDelphi, May 6 at 3:20 pm #
If we had international Unions, as suggested by he 4th and 5th Intl, and intl labor standards, the problem would be solved.
Report thisBy mbfromhb, May 6 at 1:35 pm #
when talking about immigration reform, again this is not about ‘illegal’ immigration….....its about ‘illegal’ employing. 100% mandatory e-verify NO EXCEPTIONS!!! any employers caught hiring any “illegal’ needs to get 5yrs in federal prison and have all his assets seized!! with the subsequent opening of the estimated 12 to 20 million jobs the ‘illegal’ holds that’s suddenly the end to all the unemployment and underemployment problems. and it means that everybody thats looking for work will actually have a choice of where they want to work. now get your as* in line!!!
Report thisBy mbfromhb, May 6 at 1:33 pm #
when talking about immigration reform, again this is not about ‘illegal’ immigration….....its about ‘illegal’ employing. 100% mandatory e-verify NO EXCEPTIONS!!! any employers caught hiring any “illegal’ needs to get 5yrs in federal prison and have all his assets seized!! with the subsequent opening of the estimated 12 to 20 million jobs the ‘illegal’ holds that’s suddenly the end to all the unemployment and underemployment problems. and it means that everybody thats looking for work will actually have a choice of where they want to work. now, get your as* in line!!!!!!!
Report thisBy Inherit The Wind, May 6 at 9:01 am #
I would think the answers were fairly obvious.
1) Control and punish businesses that pay less than minimum wage. Don’t make them check legal status—they aren’t cops. But make them pay EVERYONE a legal wage, and make sure the cross every t and dot every i. Yeah EMPLOYMENT LAWS enforcement on business. And make it in the gov’t's interest to enforce those laws with heavy fines for violating minimum wage and OSHA regs.
2) Have a path to legal residency and even citizenship for illegals who meet a serious set of criteria—a lot of hoops. Hoops like: No arrests or convictions, proof of continuous employment for, say, 5 years. Proof that if a phony SS# was used, no harm was done to the owner of the # (think about it: the illegal is CONTRIBUTING $$$ to the person’s account, not stealing it!), etc.
3) If a child, such as a baby, was brought here with NO say, and grew up American, there should be a fast-track to citizenship for that child upon reaching adulthood, such as, completing an Associates or Bachelors.
4) A FAR better system for guest workers to LEGALLY enter the country…Where to start on this?
5) Naturally, far, FAR better border control to the south and west. Coyotes need to face severe penalties. And anyone bringing in women and children to be sex workers (inevitably by force) needs to face serious jail time—20 years at a minimum. This is an especially big problem from Asia and the former Eastern Bloc. We need to stop spending money on anti-terrorism in Wyoming (which under Botch got 5x the amount per person as New York, which WAS attacked) and spend it on port and border control.
It’s not simple, but it’s not impossible.
Report thisBy ardee, May 6 at 6:28 am #
We have an illegal employment problem if the truth be phrased accurately. Many nations have an economic problem due, in large part, to American corporations wrecking those economies thus creating millions of desperate people in need of jobs to feed and shelter their families.
Never mind the logistics involved in finding and deporting twelve million people, never mind the fact that we ourselves created this tidal wave of illegals with our policies, never mind that corporations relish having so many potential employees with no power or voice.
Especially never mind those like Bill Jones:
bill jones, May 4 at 5:52 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)
“I’d love someone to explain to me how increasing the number of poorly educated semi-literates is a good thing in the 21st Century. The government schools churn out a couple of million a year, which seems to me to be an adequate supply.”
...who believe everyone not like him is semi-literate and inferior. I believe Mr. Jones plays a valuable part in this debate , if only by playing the role of The Ugly American.
Report thisBy tropicgirl, May 5 at 1:38 pm #
Why not try it Rahm? PLEEEASE. I want to watch it. Wassa matter, no balls? Apparently you have tiny ones after all.
Those “in the middle” (corporatists) will push for ways to sustain human trafficking and give very little real help to immigrants. They don’t even want them to have health care. They will remain slaves in a different form.
Obama is too involved in the corporate world to understand how to build consensus on this. Actually the far right and far left have much more in common on this issue. The moral sense to stop the suffering even if it means more controlled borders.
The corporatists want to extend the suffering and call it assistance. Obama does not know the difference (or maybe he does so) and his support of the bailouts and virtual silence on EFCA, literally screwing the small but active labor unions that we still have, indicate this tendency to worship the corporate world. He is truly a moral coward. He will screw the ones who put his royal butt in office just like he did with the anti-war left. The moderates (corporatists) really don’t want a living wage and labor unions anyway.
Report thisBy P. T., May 4 at 9:26 pm #
Those who own businesses that break the law should be pursued.
Report thisBy KDelphi, May 4 at 7:24 pm #
PT—I really just do not follow you guys.
When there was “immigration reform”, Reagan just legalized a bunch or workes. It wasnt that he gave a damn about them—he just watned to save business money by lowering wages.
Why dont they go after the corporations that recruit people? What did you not like about Bush’s reform? I cant believe I am supporting anything Bush ever tried to do, but, he seems to have had it right on this one.
Report thisBy P. T., May 4 at 7:10 pm #
If you reward illegal immigrants by letting them jump to the front of the line for citizenship, you are going to get more illegal immigration—just like after the last immigration “reform.” That is what economists call a perverse incentive. It is a never-ending cycle.
Even during a recession, though, the rich think that American workers are overpaid.
Report thisBy KDelphi, May 4 at 6:12 pm #
bill—what does “increasing the…blah, blah..in the 20th century” mean??
Report thisBy bill jones, May 4 at 5:52 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)
I’d love someone to explain to me how increasing the number of poorly educated semi-literates is a good thing in the 21st Century. The government schools churn out a couple of million a year, which seems to me to be an adequate supply.
Report thisBy KDelphi, May 4 at 4:11 pm #
This looks NOTHING like Obama! It reminds me of the German “Af Am doll” that thery were selling in Germany when he spoke there…
They put a little “Hope” button on his chest, so you would know who it was supposed to be
On Immigration Reform, I think that that is one thing that Bush had about right…possibly the only thing…I just had to see who that was supposed to be!
Report this