We Need to Solve This Problem to Solve Others

Right now, Republicans in Congress and the hardline
anti-immigration groups are teaming up to keep the issue of immigration on the
political table and delay or derail any attempts to fix it in a rational
way. The hysteria over illegal
immigration is whipped up further by the megaphones of CNN, FOX News Channel,
Talk Radio, and others who offer cute but unhelpful bumper-sticker length
“solutions.” As Ruben Navarrette,
syndicated columnist for the San Diego Union-Tribune says, if your solution
fits on a bumper-sticker, it is not going to work to solve a complicated issue
like immigration.

For the past two years, the opponents to legal immigration
have been firing up those opposed to illegal immigration to derail reforms that
would substantially end illegal immigration.
Led by Southern Republicans, especially Sens. John Cornyn of Texas , Jeff Sessions of Alabama ,
and Sen. David Vitter of Louisiana ,
they have beat back bipartisan attempts to solve the immigration issue.

Now they are threatening to hold every other issue hostage
to their unrealistic, absolutist stand against any immigration reform that
allows anyone here illegally to ever get legal.
They are tying every priority issue to immigration that they can,
including health care reform, education reform, housing, taxes, whatever, and
hoping to use universal opposition to illegal immigration drive their agenda and
use it like a bludgeon to derail other needed pro-worker and pro-family agenda
items.

  If we can get the ones screaming the loudest out of the way,
the rest of us can solve this issue and move on to working on other critical
issues. But when you hear them shrieking
“no amnesty, today, no amnesty tomorrow, no amnesty ever,” you should remind
yourself they are actually saying “no immigration reform,” “no health care
reform,” no progress of any kind on the major issues of the day, until the
majority bends to their minority will to get rid of 12 million people raising
families and working in our country. Since that will never happen, these other reforms will never happen,
which is giving us the gridlock they desire and most people detest.