The Immigration Miracle

Many will dismiss it as amnesty, others will nitpick at the many provisions in the over 300 page bill, while others will say it is too tough, but considering Congress had dragged his feet on the issue, the Immigration deal struck today is a sign of progress on the federal level in dealing with immigration law.

For far too long immigration has been the third rail of American politics; Go hard, you lose the Hispanic vote, go soft, you lose the WASP vote, and huge numbers of Americans are out past reality on the issue. For the record, I tend to understand the opinion of many of them. These immigrants are not called illegal for nothing; they are here illegally, but they're lucky. It is not possible to round up and expel the 10-12 million illegal immigrants who are in the country, and if even if you could, local economies, especially in the big cities and in the agriculture industry, will suffer. Immigrants, even illegal immigrants, have become a part of society we have unfortunately become dependent on. It is in our interest to give them a path to citizenship, even if it's not really the best and most fair solution in our minds. The reason why we've become so dependent on illegal immigrants is thanks in part to our federal politicians steering clear of the issue for so many years.

It amazes me, however, that the Democrats, new in the majority, are willing to risk their political capital on the issue, but they really don't have much to lose on their side. It is on the Republican side where you going to see most of those calling for the deportation of imprisonment of all illegal immigrants, without giving a good indication just precisely how that gargantuan task can be undertaken and accomplished. There are also going to be scores of people protesting, for no other reason than to show off their xenophobia, trying in vain to get rid of the Mexicans and other foreign who risk making our white country a little less white. This is especially true in the Post 9/11 world, where for a many people in this country, anyone who is not a White Ethnically-European Christian may very well be a terrorist out to hurt us.

The bill covers all ends of the debate. It doubles the border patrol, strengthens the border fence and places fines on employers who hire illegal immigrants. It also forces a $5,000 penalty and the head of household would have to return to his or her country or origin in order to come back and live permanently, and it also gives legal status to millions of undocumented immigrants, allowing them to apply for "Z" visas, which can be renewed repeatedly, eliminating the fear many illegal immigrants have of coming out of hiding, which would lead to their permanent deportation.

There are some parts of this bill I don't like. I don't agree with the idea of valuing skills over family relations. This gives companies and employers a break, allowing them to continue paying foreign workers less and leaving American workers out in the cold because they are not willing to work for wages as low as the immigrants. They make more money by paying the ignorant immigrant as little as possible, as opposed to the unionized American who wants a good wage, benefits, vacation time, etc. While I support the idea of forcing immigrants to learn our language (while allowing them to keep theirs,) the countries where most of the immigrants who desire to come here for a better life are from don't have great education systems, if they have any at all. You cannot expect many of these immigrants to be well education and know the language well if they had not chance at education in their countries of origin. Illegal immigrants and low wage workers do not come from countries like Japan, Canada, France or Germany, but rather Mexico, Haiti, rural China, sub-Saharan Africa. My ancestors came here from Southern Europe with no education and little or no knowledge of the English language; you cannot expect today's immigrants to come here already American. It takes time to assimilate. It took us two, three generations before my family fully "assimilated," yet still we live in a neighborhood in New York City dominated by our ethnicity and still practice traditions from back in the old country. The difference is, those traditions and pieces of culture have become fairly mainstream, especially in the New York area.

As for the skills over family issue, if the right wing wishes to continue their "family values" tirade, you cannot ignore the families of immigrants either. It isn't often I agree with the church, but this is one of those rare moments. Family reunification is more important than the education status of immigrants. The vast majority of immigrants come here looking for jobs, even the ones who come to be with family.

The deal is not solid yet. Speaker Pelosi is asking the President, who is in support of this bill, to guarantee her 70 GOP votes in the House, which would make the bill essentially veto-proof, and the Senate will likely strip or add pieces of the bill that could end up breaking the deal. Nevertheless, this is the riskiest bill the federal government has debated in a long time. This kudos goes out first to the Republican minority, who are risking their hides to finally do something about this issue. I have little doubt many GOP members who will vote for this bill will see xenophobic primary opponents next year. The Democratic majority deserves credit too. They put together a deal the Republicans seemed afraid of for the last 12 years. If this deal goes through and the President signs the bill, succeed or fail, it will be one of the defining moments of the 110^th Congress.

Call me a pessimist, but I'm not holding my breath this will end up on the President's desk anytime soon. If it does end up with the President's signature on it, I owe a lot of people drinks at happy hour.