Gainor: Immigration taking us for a ride

Dan Gainor, The Examiner
2008-06-13 15:05:00.0


Want to know what’s going on in the world? Go to the nation’s capital.

There you’ll find experts on one of the most contentious issues facing our nation — immigration. Their breadth of knowledge and experience will astound you.

Naturally, I don’t mean Capitol Hill.

To really understand the immigration battle, hop in a cab.

I love talking to cab drivers and limo drivers. They work hard and deal with hundreds of people each day. Cab drivers are my favorite — probably because my father drove part-time when I was young.

In D.C., many of those cabbies weren’t born in the United States. Many are citizens who work hard, pay tons of taxes and have strong opinions. Don’t get them talking politics unless you expect to hear strong views. And don’t get them talking immigration unless you want an earful.

An earful opposed to illegal immigration.

Many cab drivers came to America legally and worked very hard to do so. They are right to expect others to do the same.

Somehow neither presidential candidate has the same clarity. A June 8 Associated Press story explained that Sens. John McCain (sort-of-R-Ariz.) and Barack Obama (D-Left Field) “support giving legal status to millions of illegal immigrants.â€