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The immigration
debate is at a
fever pitch as
the Ripon
Forum goes
to press. Only a
fool would try
to predict what
will happen
next, either in
the Senate,
which will
probably vote
this week, or in
the skirmishing
that could
follow if
lawmakers then
move ahead to
try to reconcile
the Senate
package with the
much tougher
bill passed by
the House last
December.
Still, nothing
that happens in
the next few
months will
change the big
picture. The
immigration
problem isn’t
going away; the
public is
clamoring for a
solution. It’s
time for America
to end illegal
immigration as
we know it. And
divided as they
are and
understandably
wary of the
issue, no one
has a bigger
stake than
Republicans in
being part of
that solution.
The party faces
three possible
options.
We could hew to
the hard line
charted by House
Republicans, who
favor tougher
enforcement and
fewer immigrants
in the hope that
a tough stance
will appeal to
voters in
November.
We could try to
duck the issue.
After all, look
at the polls,
the argument for
this option
goes, the
party’s in
enough trouble
as it is. Why
take on a
thankless
problem like
this – it can
only divide us.
Or – the third
option – we
could take the
lead in the
fight for
reform. That’s
where President
Bush has been
pointing the
party, more and
more
determinedly as
time goes by –
and many
Republicans are
skeptical. But
in fact, on
this, he’s
right: this is a
historic
opportunity for
the GOP to take
a stand on the
right side of
change.
Why not just
take the easy
out – one of the
first two
options? Mostly
because neither
will work, and
the long-term
consequences
would be
disastrous.
Talking tough
may make for a
good campaign
spot, but it
won’t solve the
problem of
illegal
immigration.
We’ve been
throwing money
at the border
for more than a
decade now:
we’ve tripled
the size of the
Border Patrol
and quintupled
their budget.
But we’ve still
made no dent in
the number of
illegal
immigrants who
make it across
into the U.S.
every year:
roughly a
million, year
in, year out.
What’s more,
talking tough
isn’t likely to
win elections,
either. Pat
Buchanan tried
that in 2000
when he ran for
president on an
anti-immigration
platform. So,
more recently,
did Jerry
Kilgore, running
for governor of
Virginia in
2005. Neither
one holds
elective office
today, and in
fact no race in
20 years has
turned – either
way – on
immigration.
As for trying to
duck the issue,
it’s a little
late for that.
The immigration
legislation
passed by House
Republicans in
December has
already made
history – and
transformed
American
politics,
probably for
decades to come
– by driving
more than two
million
previously
apolitical
Hispanics into
the streets in
protest. And the
GOP is on the
verge of
repeating the
mistake it made
in California in
the mid-90s when
then-Governor
Pete Wilson
pitted the state
party against
immigrants,
driving away the
Latino vote for
the decade to
come.
Not that
Republicans
should back
immigration
reform just
because it’s
popular with
Latino voters.
It also happens
to be in
America’s
interest: the
reforms on the
table in the
Senate this week
are the only way
to deliver the
control the
public is
demanding,
holding the line
at the border
and restoring
the rule of law
in our
communities.
What the
president and
other GOP
immigration
reformers
understand – and
all too many
House
Republicans
don’t grasp – is
that enforcement
alone will not
restore the rule
of law.
Government, no
matter how hard
it tries, cannot
change the
realities of the
global economy.
The only way to
get control is
to combine
tougher
enforcement with
more realistic,
more enforceable
law – law more
in sync with our
labor needs and
the all but
inevitable flow
of immigrants
coming to meet
them.
The difference
between House
and Senate
Republicans
isn’t about
who’s tougher,
it’s about who’s
more pragmatic.
Senate reformers
like Chuck Hagel,
Mel Martinez,
John McCain and
others say let’s
recognize the
economic facts
of life – and
once we’ve
written law in
line with those
facts, let’s get
tough about
enforcing
that.
Let’s own up to
our shifting
demographics –
our aging,
shrinking and
ever more
educated
workforce.
Let’s admit,
even in a
knowledge
economy, our
continuing need
for unskilled
labor. Let’s
face the fact
that for good or
for ill – and
mostly for good
– we can’t
isolate our
economy from
readily
available low
wage workers in
other countries.
Let’s recognize
the truth about
the world we
live in – and
tailor our law
to take
advantage of
what’s true,
rather than
pretending it
doesn’t exist.
Immigration
reform isn’t
just about
immigrants, it’s
also about
modernity. And
it’s about being
smart enough to
understand that
if we own up to
the reality of
the world as it
is, we don’t
have to make a
choice between
immigration and
legality – or
between
prosperity and
the rule of
law.
Are Republicans
the party that
can face the
future and solve
the problems
that come with
it – or the
party that would
rather duck,
hiding behind
symbolism and
easy rhetoric?
That’s the
choice we face
as immigration
reform makes its
way through
Congress.
RF
Tamar Jacoby
is a senior
fellow at the
Manhattan
Institute. |
