Good fences: If we build it, they won't come

Jewish World Review ^ | June 15, 2007 | Charles Krauthammer

[rhema]

The reason comprehensive immigration reform remains in jeopardy, despite yesterday's partial resuscitation, is that it is a complex compromise with too many moving parts and too many competing interests. Employers want a guest worker program; unions want to kill it. Reformers want to introduce a point system that preferentially admits skilled and educated immigrants; immigrant groups naturally want to keep the existing family preference system. Liberals want legalization now; conservatives insist on enforcement "triggers" first.

There is only one provision that has unanimous support: stronger border enforcement. I've seen senators stand up and object to the point system, to chain migration, to guest workers, to every and any idea in this bill — except one. I have yet to hear a senator stand up and say she is against better border enforcement.

Why not start by passing what all sides say they want? After all, proponents of this comprehensive reform insist that the current situation is intolerable and must be resolved. It follows, therefore, that however much they differ in the details of how the current mess should be resolved, they are united in the belief that such a mess should not be allowed to happen again. And the only way to make sure of that is border control.

So why not pass it, with the understanding that the other contentious provisions would be taken up subsequently? Because for all the protestations, many of those who say they are deeply devoted to enforcement are being deeply disingenuous. They profess to care about immigration control because they have to. But they care so little about the issue that they are willing to make it hostage to the other controversial provisions, most notably legalization.

Why am I so suspicious about the fealty of the reformers to real border control?

[jebeier]

Also posetd over here. Under a different title from a different source, which is why you didn't find it in the search.

[evad]

I have yet to hear a senator stand up and say she is against better border enforcement............ Why not start by passing what all sides say they want?

Because we know that's actually NOT what they want.

[joeystoy]

Easiest way to have a fence built is to get the National Endowment for the Arts to give a $100 million grant to Christo.

He’ll have a 1,200 mile orange fence built in less than a year and the sniveling liberal weenies on the Upper West Side of Manhattan will praise it as a great artistic achievement... until the APCs start patrolling it.