Undeniably, and most unfortunately, there is a fair-to-middling-sized streak of bigotry and good old American xenophobia in the anti-illegal immigration camp.
This minor facet of the anti-illegal immigration movement has, also undeniably and unfortunately, been used to effectively cripple it. It is a major reason why real "immigration reform" is a non-starter.
Good point. Obviously, we need reform; the reason there are so many "illegals" is that the law is totally out of line with our real needs, and the market is simply ignoring the law because it is so unworkable. And this is from our point of view, not even that of the immigrants, and even has nothing to do with humanitarian concerns.
Personally, I think the raving anti-Hispanic bigotry expressed by the Know-Nothing element (which innocently protested it was just against "illegals") actually contributed enormously to the Dem win. Not only did it drive Hispanics back into the arms of the Dems, but it made us look petty, hysterical and dominated by a group that would never be satisfied with anything rational.
I still think a lot of the shriekers on FR were Dem plants, though. They were able to stir up the bigots among us and keep them at fever pitch until the election was over. I notice much less anti-immigration spamming of other threads, for example, now that the Dems have won, even though in theory the anti-immigrant crowd should have reason to feel even more hysterical.
Just getting ready to head off to work, but wanted to quickly respond to your excellent post. You are precisely right, Kenny. Now, with the Dems in charge in Congress, we will see something much less worthwhile pass. Whether or not President Bush signs it is unclear at this time, although I think he would have every incentive to do so. The hysterics have once again marginalized themselves.