Thread: Congress can't afford to ignore immigration

Some interesting comments left at the end of the article also.

http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/156579
Congress can't afford to ignore immigration

Published: 11.19.2006

Congress can't afford to ignore immigration
Our view: Failure of federal legislators to act on politically radioactive issue soon may stall reform until after 2008 elections

Federal paralysis is allowing global economic forces and states' action to shape U.S. immigration policy, a situation that must not continue.
Policymakers and academics at Thursday's National Symposium on Immigration at the state Capitol in Phoenix broke down the patterns and pieces of the contentious, divisive issue — from the statistical analysis of global trends and patterns to the politics and practicalities of reform. The symposium's presentations and discussions made it clear that forces other than Congress are dictating our nation's immigration policy.
Congress must seize this issue, strip away the emotion and rhetoric and do its job — establishing and legislating solid, comprehensive immigration reform that works for all affected by immigration: businesses, consumers, legal and illegal workers and taxpayers.
Approximately 100 educators, lawmakers, students, activists and journalists attended the symposium. The Star was among the event's sponsors, which also included the Tucson-based Thomas R. Brown Foundations, The Rand Corp., the University of Arizona, the University of Southern California, and Congressional Quarterly. The Communications Institute, a California-based nonprofit, sponsored and coordinated the event.
Sidelined in Congress
Among the most concerning predictions from the symposium: Unless Congress acts in the next six months or so, nothing will happen on immigration reform until after the 2008 election and possibly not until decade's end.
Michael Sandler, immigration reporter for the Congressional Quarterly, said at the symposium that if key players from the House and Senate do not agree on the specifics of legislation this summer, there will be no substantive legislative action until after the 2008 presidential election.
Immigration must be addressed before Congress turns its attention to the budget in September and then the presidential election season starts in earnest or it won't be addressed, Sandler said.
Likewise, symposium panelist Doris Meissner, a senior fellow with the Migration Policy Institute, said immigration was not the wedge issue of this month's election that it was expected to be. Meissner is a former INS commissioner, which makes her an architect of the current approach.
Meissner pointed to the fact that Democrat Nancy Pelosi of California, who was selected as House speaker last week, did not mention immigration on her first 100 hours' agenda.
New rules for relationships among lobbyists and legislators, enacting the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, raising the minimum wage and allowing the government to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies for lower Medicare drug prices — all worthy endeavors —were among the issues Pelosi called for the House to address during its first 100 hours.
Unfortunately, immigration was not among her touchstone issues, which could mean shuffling it to the congressional sidelines.
Immigration is a risky, politically radioactive issue that no party wants to have land it its lap. There is little party unity and plenty of party division on the issue, Daniel J. Tichenor, a political-science professor from Rutgers University, said at the symposium.
We agree with Meissner, who said Thursday that constructive activity requires federal action and that abdication of responsibility on these issues is indefensible.
The consensus from both policymakers and researchers at the symposium is that immigration is a federal, not state, responsibility.
With a stalemate in Washington, Meissner said states — including Arizona — are taking matters into their own hands.
States' steps, such as our state's passage of ballot propositions aimed at making life in Arizona less appealing for illegal entrants, are creating a patchwork, piecemeal immigration policies.
Due to easy mobility in our nation, immigrants — legal or not — uncomfortable in one area can simply move to another that might be more welcoming.
Learning from previous plan
Members of Congress must start talking, listening and working through issues immediately.
Immigration is a complex tangle of economic, social and security issues that must be addressed fully at the national level.
Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl, a Republican, told an Editorial Board meeting last month that building the fence along Arizona's border was a first step that got political consensus. Now, he's looking at ramping up efforts such as temporary-worker and employer-verification programs. We hope Kyl will lead the effort to accomplish precisely that.
Some of these reform ideas should sound familiar. The mega-immigration overhaul of 1986 was supposed to be a three-legged stool of enforcement, guest workers and legalization, said Romano L. Mazzoli at the symposium. The former Democratic congressman from Kentucky chaired the House Judiciary subcommittee that dealt with immigration and authored the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, or the Simpson-Mazzoli Immigration Act.
Mazzoli's legislation has been criticized — including by some symposium audience members — for its amnesty program and other cumbersome measures.
So let's learn from what didn't work. Meissner said during a Thursday panel that the new Congress probably won't reintroduce bills, but would have new offerings. We hope new bills will have new ideas and build upon lessons learned.
For a start, she said, don't begin the discussion by focusing on the 11 million to 12 million illegal entrants already in the nation. Amnesty is the most divisive issue, she said.
On the other hand, while William Beach of the Heritage Foundation agreed that while amnesty is the most divisive of the issues, it also stands out in front of all the issues and must be addressed first and foremost.
Let the negotiations of those elected decide the flow. Before it's more than 100 degrees in Tucson this summer, we hope Congress is discussing:
● A system that makes it easier for employers to verify and ensure that a Social Security number is valid.
● A guest-worker program that is responsive to the labor market.
● A system to deport or reclassify illegal immigrants who have overstayed their visas.
● A system to fairly and reasonably address the millions of illegal entrants who are living and working in our nation, and contributing to our society. Congress should look at creative forms of regulation or legalization that would not be blanket amnesty programs.
● Enforcement and security that goes beyond the fence.
Lastly, the United States must encourage Mexico's economic development.
Demographer Dowell Myers shared a baseball analogy: You start your swing before the ball is at the plate.
Congress must start swinging or it will be sitting in the dugout.

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I have posted the above recommendation over and over on this website at risk of annoying reputable members. What are they teaching in journalism classes these days - cluelessness?