Spitzer Drops License Plan, A Note on Immigration

Thank God.

This is a contentious plan that saw no short-term effects to the voting public and little long-term effects to justify forcing it into law against massive public opposition. The voting public, whether it be because of racism, xenophobia, or just that it aggravates them that illegal immigrants found their way to America easier than their ancestors, do not show sympathy with immigrants who come here illegally.

It is true that some immigrants are forced, by economic or political means, to come to the United States illegally, and most come here looking for a decent living and not to take advantage of our social services. Sure some illegal immigrants are forced into slave labor just to keep themselves in the country, but the American people do not show sympathy with their plight.

Americans see their country has something that needs to be earned. Their ancestors sold everything they had to get on overcrowded, dirty boats for weeks at a time only to come to Ellis Island and be forced to go through hurdle after hurdle before arriving in America and have to start from scratch. In the eyes of Americans, illegal immigrants did not earn their way to America. They ran across the Rio Grade, or got off a plane and went into hiding after their visa expired. Americans feel, and justifiably so, their ancestors would not have been given such a fair deal if their ancestors came to America illegally, whether their arrival illegally was justified or not.

Now there are racial and xenophobic undertones in this debate as well. I highly doubt the debate would be as divisive if the immigrants came from Ireland, Scotland, or Norway. The color of immigrants' skin, the language they speak, and sometimes the religion they preach and seen by many as a threat to all-things American. This argument, however, would still be present if all immigration was legal and documented, as it was in the early 20th century.

Now, I understand Spitzer's rational. This is a problem that the federal government, thanks to lack of enforcement of the laws, has forced us to deal with. Unlicensed illegal immigrants cause accidents which drive up insurance costs. Licensing them and allowing them to get insurance decreases those chances, but I highly doubt any licensed illegal immigrant is going to be able to afford car insurance. Instead of steamrolling his plan, Governor Spitzer really needed to convince the people why he has to come up with this plan; "Because lack of federal invervention on the issue is causing unlicensed drivers to get into accidents, costing New Yorkers more. Until they come up with an immigration solution, we have no choice but to license them, so they can get insurance."

He didn't

The reason for massive public opposition to this is largely anger over these immigrants entering the country illegally and not being punished for it. Giving them driver's licenses is seen as a reward, ignorning the fact that they've committed a crime, even if it's only a misdemeanor.

It's Not Just An American Thing

Prejudice and racism exists in even those peaceful countries with a clean reputation; countries like Switzerland.

Will It Cost Them Florida?

Maybe

But if you wonder why Democrats are doing better in Arizona, Texas, Colorado, and Nevada, here's why.

He Went There

Ruben Navarette Jr. apparently never heard of the great time-honored American tradition of "Our problems are everyone else's fault, we're perfect."

The Immigration Revolt

Immigration is back and the right is NOT happy

Conservative blogs are doing what no one ever thought they'd do, they attacked the President harshly;

says Erick Erickson of Redstate.com;

"Of all the issues the president has picked to make his hill to die on, he has picked the one that has divided his base, I am shocked by the anger and outrage out there ... You've got war against the president within the Republican party."

Michelle Malkin called it a "betrayal."
Hugh Hewitt calls the bill a "fiasco" and blatantly told the President the bill is "a disaster."

if the President looses his base on this, he may very well become an official lame duck. However, I find it unlikely his base will completely abandon him, with the war on terror and social issues for example.

The President may not actually listen to his base this time. On his way out with nothing to loose, Bush may use up the rest of his political capital to leave something of a legacy. Iraq is a disaster, so is his energy policy. Even his "war on terror" isn't going so well considering what just happened in Gaza. Immigration reform, despite being unpopular with his base, is something that may work, if enforced correctly, and could be the only good thing he leaves behind when he heads back to Texas in 19 months.

Immigration Part II

Just how much influence does the President have?

Depends on the issue.

I find it funny that the GOP in Congress is willing to follow him blindly on every issue except immigration.

Hmm, wonder why that is?

Immigration Part I

MSNBC and Newsweek put together this nifty illegal immigration map to show what states are most affected by illegal immigration and how the Senators representing those states voted last week.

As expected, the four largest states, California, Texas, New York and Florida bear the brunt of the illegal immigrations. However, when adjusted to population, California is the hardest hit with 9% of it's population being illegal immigrants, for Texas, the number is about 8%, for New York, 3% and Florida, about 5%.

The Southwest States, like Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and Colorado and the fast growing southern states of North Carolina, Virginia, Georgia and Tennessee are also largely affected, as is the Pacific Northwest.

Not affected? the Northern Great Plains and Northern Rocky Mountains, Appalachia, Northern New England, Alaska and Hawaii.

It's Dead

The one thing the Democratic majority and the President has agreed on is dead...killed a slow and agonizing death in the US Senate by the far left and the far right.

To the left, I say, illegal immigrants are here illegally and are lucky to get what they are getting.

To the right, if you can figure out a way to deport 12 million people without sending this nation into chaos, I'd like to hear it.

The President's Patriotism Question

It's high time the President realizes he's not the final word on what is patriotic.

I support the President's immigration policies. I think they're what's best for America, but I don't support the President attacking this opponents, claiming they don't want to help America. That is questioning their patriotism and I don't question the patriotism of people like Lou Dobbs, Tom Tancredo, Dana Rohrabacher, etc. It's not question they believe their ideas are good for America, even if I don't or the President doesn't.

I'm used to hearing the President attack the patriotism who disagree with his opinion of war, but to attack anyone's patriotism who disagrees with him on ANYTHING is ridiculous.

What's even worse is that the President contradicted himself. First, he gave a rational for those who disagree with his immigration plan;

"A lot of Americans are skeptical about immigration reform, primarily because they don't think the government can fix the problems,"

then later on, he said this;

"Those determined to find fault with this bill will always be able to look at a narrow slice of it and find something they don't like. If you want to kill the bill, if you don't want to do what's right for America, you can pick one little aspect out of it. You can use it to frighten people, or you can show leadership and solve this problem once and for all."

so what is it Mr. President? Is it that they don't trust the federal government's immigration plans, or is it that they don't want to go what's good for America? Or is it both? Is it that not trusting you means not wanting what's best for America because YOU and ONLY YOU know what's best for America?

The Bush Press Confrerence

Key Things;

-If you don't listen to him, your kids will die.
-More Americans will be killed in Iraq, get used to it
-Sanctions against Iran will work, just look at how successfull they were in Iraq. (funny thing was, they were, unless you were Iraqi)
-Democrats just want to kick me around because everyone hates me. They bullying me.
-I don't know anything about this guy I'm talking about, except that he was born in Mexico, but he's great.

I'm still waiting for the one line that will restore my respect in this President...this one;

"I've screwed this war up so bad, I'm sorry, but I bungled it so bad, that we're stuck there in Iraq for a good long time."

That's all I want to hear from him

The Political Factor

You wonder why the Republicans are so gung ho to prevent any attempt to allow illegal immigrants to become citizens.

This is a pretty good reason.

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.

OOOOO, McCain Used A Dirty Word!

Sometimes Senator John McCain (R-Arizona) made his triumphant return to the Capitol today, taking credit for the immigration deal he never helped negotiate thanks to his busy campaigning for President schedule, only to be met with resistance over his tardiness.

He got into an argument and told a colleague "F--- You" and claimed he knew more about immigration than anyone.

The colleague?

Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) who complained that McCain was out of line due to his lack of presence during the negotiations. McCain had complained that Cornyn's objections, which he termed "petty," would kill the deal (which he probably is planning to campaign on.)

McCain, by the way, has missed four of the 14 votes on Iraq, including the most recent, this year and has not showed up for a single vote in the month of May. The other presidential candidates from the Senate; Sam Brownback (R-Kansas), Joe Biden (D-Delaware), Hillary Clinton (D-New York), and Barack Obama (D-Illinois) have missed none in May.

It's Not The Message, It's The Messenger

Let's review what Newt Gingrich said earlier today;

"The American people believe English should be the official language of the government"

This is true

"We should replace bilingual education with immersion in English so people learn the common language of the country,"

Ok, this is a good point

"and they learn the language of prosperity, not the language of living in a ghetto."

There it is, that's where we've lost you there Newt.

The reason why it is so difficult to win over Latino voters and the reason why the Republicans are accused of being racist, anti-Hispanic and xenophobic is because they can't explain their logical reasoning for their beliefs without accidentally saying something inflammatory and racist. This doesn't say "Newt Gingrich supports English education for new immigrants," it says "Newt Gingrich thinks only English speaking people are prosperous."

What Newt Gingrich said, and I'd like to see him worm out of this one, is that immigrants and non-English speakers (specifically Latinos and Spanish speakers) are crap. They live in poverty, commit crimes, and drag down the nation all because they speak Spanish. Once again, the Republicans have let a logical point get overshadowed by the fact that they hate non-white, non-English speaking people.

The "New" Immigration Plan

The White House has a new immigration plan...How exactly is it new?

It gives undocumented workers visas, so already Tom Tancredo won't like it. I, on the other hand, think it's the smartest idea Bush has ever had. I think he actually understands the reality of the immigration problem, most likely because he was the Governor of Texas, a major immigrant state.

It would be statistically impossible to round up all the illegal immigrats and kick them out, which is the popular solution (and quite frankly would be mine if it were at all possible.) So, the best plan we can have is the one that allows us to deal with those who are already here and prevent any further illegal immigrants from entering in droves. I'm not sure this plan prevents the latter, but it's a good start. Those who are here undocumented must leave after their visas expire and apply for a green card before they can renter the US and legally live here.

If there was one issue I always thought the President and the Democratic Congress would be able to deal with together, it was immigration reform. President Bush is must closer to the Democrats on this issue than most of the conservative Republicans. An immigration reform bill, in my opinion, has a good chance of passing and, of anything, getting bipartisan support which will have Speaker Pelosi and President Bush smiling together again.

Living in Queens, New York, I am in an immigration mecca, where I see both legal and illegal immigrants everyday. I think there are people in both schools who are here to be Americans and there are people in both who are here to take advantage of our graciousness. However, just because you are here to be Americans doesn't give you the right to come here illegally. Go home and come back the legal way and then you can join the party.