Consequences of Doing Nothing on Immigration Reform

In June Congress again failed to come up with a comprehensive solution to the immigration issue. A workable solution is there, if there is sufficient political will, but there doesn't seem to be that will. It has become an all or nothing debate, which means nothing gets done. President Bush has succumbed to his party's "enforcement only" mantra, and as a USA Today op-ed piece makes clear, local communities are taking the law into their own hand -- with unfortunate consequences.

Anti-immigrant sentiment is getting stronger as Immigrant groups get more impatient and more radicalized, more immigrants slip in the country, services are overloaded. Local ordinances tend to be reactionary and divisive, netting not just "illegals" but citizens who are perceived to be foreigners. This is what the USA Today op-ed writer had to say:

Amid the stalemate in Congress, the Bush administration last week announced another push to make employers obey laws against hiring illegal immigrants. At least that's the right level of government to be enforcing federal law. But until the nation has a credible guest worker program — and a path to citizenship for the millions already here — harsh enforcement will achieve little.

When senators killed a promising immigration compromise in June, they irresponsibly tossed the problem to places like Hazleton, where the problem is only being amplified.

Shall we return to the anti-immigrant sentiments that led to the Know Nothing Party and other similar ventures? Will bigotry drive our domestic policies? I truly hope not.