Recent statements by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi about the importance of enacting immigration reform this year has led some observers to conclude immigration reform should not be attempted during an election season and that legislation on this subject represents bad politics. They say it is a divisive and emotional issue, and one that will badly polarize the electorate. One leading news outlet even called it a "no-win" issue.
Yet those arguments ignore the fact that virtually no one likes the status quo. High-tech companies dislike restrictions on their ability to recruit foreign-born scientists and engineers. Farmers have problems bringing seasonal labor into the country to harvest fruits and vegetables. Universities have difficulty gaining student visas for those admitted from abroad. Taxpayers worry about a drain on public services from undocumented immigrants. Labor unions fear job competition from new arrivals. Those concerned about border security believe the government needs to take that issue far more seriously.
In a situation of widespread discontent, doing nothing is a poor political strategy. Voters want public officials to solve problems. Everyone understands that immigration is controversial, but that doesn't mean people want inaction. Many recognize the need for Congress to take affirmative steps to solve aspects of immigration they don't like.
If national leaders don't address immigration problems, the states will. Last week, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed a controversial measure authorizing police officers to stop any person they suspected of being in America illegally. Not only does that bill place local police in an impossible situation by forcing them to guess who has papers, it increases the odds of racial profiling by local authorities.
It is important to address immigration this year because of the crucial swing role of Latinos in upcoming elections. Nationally, that group comprises 15 percent of the population, up from 12 percent in 2000. With 46 million Hispanics, Latino voters are a rising political power. This is especially the case since they are concentrated in key states. The areas having the highest percentages of Hispanics include New Mexico (44 percent), California (36 percent), Texas (36 percent), Arizona (30 percent), and Nevada (25 percent).
Hispanics were crucial to President Barack Obama's 2008 victory. In election night exit polls, it was estimated that 67 percent of Hispanics voted for Obama, compared to 32 percent who favored Republican John McCain. This represented an eight percentage point improvement over 2004 when Democrat John Kerry garnered 59 percent of the Latino national vote, compared to 40 percent for Republican George W. Bush.
The swing nature of that vote pressures legislators in both parties to address the concerns of Latinos. That segment's political power requires politicians to seek comprehensive legislation. The spread of Hispanics into suburban districts, where they previously had not been present in large numbers, encourages centrists of each party to moderate their stances and respond affirmatively to new local constituents.
Polling data suggest the public is open to immigration reform. There is support for the United States creating a "path to citizenship" for illegal immigrants currently in the country, subject to certain conditions. Results from a Pew Research Center survey demonstrate that nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of Americans favor a "path to citizenship" if illegal immigrants pass a background check, pay fines and have a job.
Seventy-four percent say undocumented aliens must have lived in the country for at least five years, 57 percent feel they should pay a fine for coming to America illegally, and 89 percent believe they must be required to learn English. When those requirements are attached to legalization, Americans are ready for immigration reform.
Darrell M. West is Vice President and Director of Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution. He is the author of the forthcoming Brookings Institution Press book, Brain Gain: Rethinking American Immigration.
Follow Darrell West on Twitter: www.twitter.com/darrwest
Mexicans need to change Mexico to a place than Mexicans don't want to leave because they have opportunity and hope for their own future and the future of their children in Mexico. It is terribly sad when the measure of success is to abandon your family and escape into another country to earn a living in the hope that you can sneak your family across the border later or support them in Mexico. That is no family life. It is an invitation to promiscuity for both parents.
The Author states "Polling data suggest the public is open to immigration reform..." He is using a Pew Center report from 2009 as source material. Yet that Pew Center report says the poll data cited comes from 2007, BEFORE Americans generally became aware of the true problems if Illegal Immigration during the CIR Debate of 2007 and BEFORE the current recession. More recent polls show support for a "path to legality" has dropped to minority status.
The Author talks about "the crucial swing role of Latinos in upcoming elections...", repeating the claim that Immigration issues for Latinos swung the election to President Obama. But the Pew Center report states "Immigration was a low priority in the election not only for the public as a whole but for Latinos as well. Both before and after the election, Latinos surveyed by the Pew Hispanic Center rated immigration as significantly less important than issues such as jobs and education. In December just 31% said it was an "extremely important" issue for the new president to deal with".
The Author says “Farmers have problems bringing seasonal labor into the country to harvest fruits and vegetables.” But those familiar with the issue know the main reason farmers refuse to use the H2A Seasonal Worker Visa is because it has been cheaper to recruit an Illegal Immigrant, since enforcement of our immigration laws has been lax.
I have seen what has happened, Besides Triggering the Crash of our Banking System, and putting a massive hole in the "Real Estate Bubble", these now vacated Immigrants dwellings have made Phoenix approx: 30% overbuilt, completly Halting both Construction and Growth! Costing Tens of Thousands of Americans their jobs!
Since the U.S. Census Bureau counted the Immigrants the same as all other Citizens to base the size of our "Total Government Services on" Arizona now has an approx: 30% Budget Shortfall.
The State has Taken it all out on Teachers and Childrens Programs, rather thatn reduce Government across the Baord as Required by their smaller Tax Base.
Now The State is trying to Raise Taxes 17% plus a 1cent sales tax increase!
Az. SB1070 = Perfectly Timed Evil.
Right after the 2010 Census count, and Arizona Fleecing the Federal Government and the rest of the Country out of Ten Years of Billions of Dollars for these Good Hard Working Immigrants, Arizona will now Deport them All, regardless of Right, or if they are part of Family Units made up of both U.S. Citizens and un-documenteds!
The Ironic thing is this will just necessitate the need to further Reduction of Government!
This Law is "Wrong", "Racist"," Fraudulent", and "EVIL"!
To: Good and Brotherhood, from sea to shining sea.
Many continue to talk about "rights" and forget about "responsibility". Lawbreakers suffer the consequence for breaking the law. Lawbreakers should not have a problem with that. They have no right to break the law. Citizens and guests in this country have a "responsibiity" to abide by the laws. People can protest that all they want. But Lawbreakers will do it in jail or be deported.......
If the illegals wanted to get legal they can do so, however they prefer 2 B Lawbreakers, consider this:
A Zogby poll found that 58 percent of Mexicans believe California and the Southwest rightly belong to them. Although this belief is bred by a tendentious view of history, it doesn't change the end result. It has spawned groups such as Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan (MEChA), which advocates conquering the Southwest in the name of Mexico. More significantly, it causes many average Mexicans to have no compunction about imposing their culture and language on the country that has so generously given them support.....
The illegals, Muslim, Mexican, and others prefer not 2 B legal, they can live in shadows and continue their lifestyle without responnsibility. They consider that a right, but it is not right, and it is not responsible. It is reprehensible and unconscionable......