Thread: The law is legally defensible but...

Another editorial by a Hispanic panderer but this one claims to be a conservative!


Post-Arizona, the GOP must take pains not to alienate Latinos

Andrea Tantaros

Thursday, May 6th 2010, 8:21 AM

Despite the outrage, Arizona is well within its constitutional rights to enforce its new law requiring suspected undocumented immigrants to be asked for proof of citizenship and, if they turn out to be illegal, detaining them. And while the opposition organizes protests and marches, claiming that the law is "destructive" - with some going so far as to compare it to "actions taken in Nazi Germany" - a recent poll from Gallup shows that of Americans who are aware of the immigration crackdown, a majority favor the move, 51% to 39%.

But just because the law is legally defensible and supported by many Americans doesn't mean it's politically smart. Backers, specifically Republicans, should be very careful here. Supporting the Arizona law without simultaneously endorsing pro-lawful immigration and pro-Latino policies could have cataclysmic effects on the party in the long term.

President George W. Bush reached out to Latinos as hard as any Republican leader ever has to break the Democratic stranglehold on the Hispanic vote - and it proved fruitful. While Al Gore won 65% of the Latino vote, holding Bush to a mere 35%, John Kerry only carried 55% of the Hispanic (with Bush getting 45%), paving the way for Bush's reelection. Since Hispanics cast 12% of the vote in 2004, their 10-point movement to the GOP gave the President an additional 1.2% of the national vote - a critical slice.

But since 2004, and despite Sen. John McCain's pro-immigration efforts, the GOP has yet to build on that foundation. Rather than take the edge off their toughness, party leaders often appear xenophobic and isolationist. The battle in the Southwest could exacerbate current stereotypes, and if Democrats who are looking to take advantage of the fight for political gain - such as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada - have their way, it will.

Republicans need to start putting together a plan that could appeal to Latinos - capitalizing on, not compromising on, their core values - before the immigration reform debate returns to Washington's front burner, where it is rapidly headed.

To this end, the GOP should outline a version of amnesty with teeth that permits illegal immigrants to gain lawful status and eventual citizenship - but not without any penalties for offenders. Impose a waiting time but start taxing would-be citizens immediately.

Sending all illegal immigrants back to their native country for good, which is what many in the GOP still claim to support, is not just an unrealistic option, it's a stupid one. Take a look into almost every restaurant kitchen in New York City. The argument that illegal Hispanics are taking all jobs that legal Americans want is hard to believe. Often, whites don't want to do the work in many fields that Latinos dominate, such as hospitality, food service and agriculture. (Except for maybe construction, where the GOP could have an opportunity to split the Democratic base of pro-labor, blue-collar men. But until the snooty, country club Republicans snap out of their haze, that ain't happening.)

To take the sharp edge off their law-and-order approach, the GOP can also oppose benefit cuts to documented aliens and embrace bilingual education. I'm not saying make Spanish the official language, I'm saying that offering Spanish alongside English can be beneficial to our kids, regardless of their family background. As a non-Hispanic, I speak Spanish (and three other languages). It makes me smarter, not any less of an American.

While we're at it, we should increase the legal quotas coming from Latin and European countries even as we shut the border. The legal immigration quotas were adjusted in recent decades to take fewer "Western" immigrants and more immigrants from South Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Let's reverse that and level the playing field so that more Hispanics can enter the country legally.

According to most polls, the economy is the top issue for Hispanics - and Republicans, who support small-government, pro-growth policies, can speak to those concerns from a position of strength. Coddling illegals and putting them on the dole as some on the left seem to envision may sound seductive to minorities, but it's unsustainable, not just for the aliens but also the entire nation. Following in Bush's footsteps, Republicans can also connect with Latinos on traditional social issues like marriage and abortion.

I say this as a conservative and the child of an immigrant who came here illegally, only to return legally shortly thereafter: Reversing decades of anti-immigrant branding and anti-Latino legislation won't be easy, but the time has come to try. It must start with immigration, and it can be a winning issue for the GOP if it takes the right approach.

In the words of Republican Senate hopeful Marco Rubio of Florida: "We should have a vibrant, healthy legal immigration process in America, but we also can't be the only country in the world that doesn't enforce its immigration laws."

If the right continues to launch into assault mode, urging the replication of the Arizona law without putting forth a positive game plan for legal immigration, the Republican Party will become the most prominent minority group fearing for its status. Loving the Arizona law and staying true to the American principle that we are a nation of immigrants are not mutually exclusive.

atantaros@gmail.com

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/col ... z0nAOQZHEe

I only want to alienate illegals . . . all the way back to Mexico.

When did politics and politicians become synonymous with self interests and self promotion disregarding the people or the protection of the Country? "Supporting popular opinion" is that not the same thing as 'doing the job you were elected for?" When did politics become a popularity contest?

well...I was just asking..