Thread: Both sides on immigration get another chance S.D.U.T.

SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE EDITORIAL

Lessons learned

Both sides on immigration get another chance

2:00 a.m. April 22, 2009

Now that the Obama administration has signaled its desire to reopen the debate over comprehensive immigration reform, and anti-illegal immigration activists are already gearing up to fight what they consider amnesty, it seems like a good time to take stock and offer some advice about what should happen from here.

It is sad and unfortunate that Americans spent seven years – from 2001 to 2008 – arguing over immigration reform, and yet they were never able to find a way to come together to fix a system that everyone agrees is broken. So, now that it is all over, we are back where we started. The border is still porous, and there are still about 12 million illegal immigrants living among us with no way to earn legal status.

One reason the immigration debate fell apart is that both sides could be petty, self-serving and distracted. Those on the left saw themselves as morally superior, as if they were the only ones who thought illegal immigrants should be dealt with compassionately. Those on the right saw themselves the same way, as if they were the only ones who cared about the rule of law. There was a poisonous amount of name-calling and overreaching and intransigence. And when a legislative compromise finally appeared, both sides saw something that appealed to them but neither was willing to sign off on elements they opposed. So in the end, both sides claimed victory for holding firm and refusing to take a bad deal, but the truth is that both sides were defeated since both got nothing.

In this go-around, people will once again make mistakes. You can count on that much. But let's at least try to be original and avoid making the same mistakes we made last time. To make that happen, we have to strive to do certain things and not do others.

Do's: Concentrate on fixing the problem, reaching across the table, helping improve people's lives, and coming up with a national immigration policy that is tough but fair – one that secures the border and provides a path to earned legalization for illegal immigrants.

Don'ts: Avoid getting tangled up in politics, attacking the integrity of opponents, oversimplifying the ailment or what you see as the remedy, trying to get everything you want from the negotiation while refusing to give up any ground on what the other side wants.

Above all, let's have a moratorium on sanctimony. Neither side needs to prove it is passionate about this issue, or that it wants what is best for the country. We got that message loud and clear. Now what we need to see is that both sides are committed to putting aside their differences and solving one of the nation's most stubborn problems – as opposed to being content to just create more of them.

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"It is sad and unfortunate that Americans spent seven years – from 2001 to 2008 – arguing over immigration reform, and yet they were never able to find a way to come together to fix a system that everyone agrees is broken. So, now that it is all over, we are back where we started. The border is still porous, and there are still about 12 million illegal immigrants living among us with no way to earn legal status. "

What? Americans didn't argue over immigration reform, they argued that there is no need for reform, only enforcement. And that last sentence, "12 million illegal immigrants living among us with no way to earn legal status" is false. They had the opportunity for legal status in their home country. Now, they can earn legal status by going back and getting at the BACK of the line.

The first thing that needs to happen is our Federal Government needs to prove to the American citizens that they can and will enforce ALL laws. If that doesn't happen there is no need to empower any new legislation. It is much the same as the current arguments over the economy wherein Obama says that trust in lending and in the market must come about. Trust in the Federal Government to enforce ALL laws must come about before any change can be made to existing immigration laws. The problem is that our immigration laws are not broken, but rather the will to enforce them and the Federal Governent along with corporate America lives in fear that American citizens will see how well existing laws work when the are followed!

oops! duplicated myself! removed.

Nice try, but this approach will never stop these demanding, greedy, open-borders, self serving Latino amnesty groups and their ethnic organizations and U.S. government allies from taking all they can from now until the re-formation of this country into one of their own.

I have a good Idea...22 years ago you had it your way, now we have 10 fold illegal aliens in this country....so I say it is our turn to have it our way, enforce the laws and give attritiion through enforcement a try and I mean with some real effort...

not just do nothing and then give us the same old crap about the immigration laws are broken!!

e-verify

Employer enforcement

take away the jobs with all seriousness and see just what happenS, but first close the BLASTED BORDER!!

People who are for illegals getting Amnesty are mostly "special interests " groups.
The people against Amnesty are AMERICANS!!!

Special Interest groups have NO right to say how America spends it's money!
We want our tax money to go to America's interests and not Mexico's!

The American people want reform in the sense that our immigration laws are enforced and illegals get the H out of OUR country.