Thread: Bleak prospects for broad immigration reform

Bleak prospects for broad immigration reform in near future
By Mike Lillis - 12/30/10 06:08 AM ET

Just days after Congress killed the DREAM Act, voices on all sides of the immigration reform debate say it’s unlikely there will be much movement on the issue during the next two years.

With Republicans poised to assume House control in January, immigrant-rights advocates see scant chance that legislation granting illegal immigrants any kind of foothold in the U.S. could move through the lower chamber.

But with Democrats still holding the Senate and the White House, conservatives urging a harder line on deportations and citizenship requirements aren't terribly optimistic about those proposals either.

The likely result is an impasse of sorts on the immigration-reform front through the 112th Congress, observers say, with lawmakers stepping up oversight of the administration's enforcement efforts, but unable to enact major changes of their own.

"I would expect 'small ball' — smaller, more-targeted measures that aren't meant to remake the immigration system altogether," said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, a D.C.-based think tank advocating for tougher enforcement of immigration laws. "Logic would dictate … they'll be doing a lot of oversight."

ACLU Legislative Counsel Joanne Lin echoed that sentiment, noting that the House Republicans poised to chair the panels with primary jurisdiction over immigration policy — Reps. Lamar Smith (Texas) and Steve King (Iowa) — "are about as far away from supporting comprehensive immigration reform as anyone can be."

"I don't see a way forwardâ€

"Still, even King conceded there's nothing lawmakers can do to stem the flow of illegals immigrants entirely."

"It's never going to be totally secure," King said of the nation's border. "We live in the real world. There's always going to be some gaps."


JUST SEAL THE MEXICAN BORDER. OR YOU WILL BE REMOVED FROM OFFICE NEXT ELECTION, MR. KING. YOU ARE TALKING LIKE OBAMA AND THE DEMOCRATS.

"Moran warned that GOP leaders should be wary of alienating Hispanic residents — a growing voting bloc. "If Republicans are strategic, they'll take advantage of their leadership position and push for comprehensive reform. It's in their hands — and it's possible," Moran said. "If they don't, I think they'll feel it at the polls in 2012"


Republicans are being thrown out and are losing their own party to Tea Party people BECAUSE of their open borders/amnesty, ethnic pandering, globalist, New World Order complicity...

If they push for amnesty they are as good as done and they know this.

Republicans have never wanted amnesty for illegal aliens, have never wanted pathways to citizenship for illegal aliens, have never wanted guest worker permits for illegal aliens, have never wanted Dream Act for illegal aliens, have never wanted anything to do with or for illegal aliens except to deport them and keep them out of our country.

Under pressure from Democrats, Ronald Reagan made the grievous mistake of agreeing to it. It didn't work as an end all to illegal immigration, it was a total and complete failure and did the opposite of what its proponents claimed it would do.

Kings right in saying its impossible to 100% secure the border. Still 90% secure is still a step and very possible enough.

However the other big half of the fix isn't the border, its stoping the handouts to illegals. If they can't get a job, welfare, education, citizenship, pretty much nothing theres far less of a reason to stay. Of course still the odd one will slip through the cracks running their own cash business, marrying a legal resident and raising the kids, and such but thats a tiny amount vs what we have today.

So secure the border the 90-95% of the way we can, stop all the things illegals come expecting, and the problem is 99.9% solved which I'm sure we'll all be happy enough with.

Originally Posted by Syanis

Kings right in saying its impossible to 100% secure the border. Still 90% secure is still a step and very possible enough.

However the other big half of the fix isn't the border, its stoping the handouts to illegals. If they can't get a job, welfare, education, citizenship, pretty much nothing theres far less of a reason to stay. Of course still the odd one will slip through the cracks running their own cash business, marrying a legal resident and raising the kids, and such but thats a tiny amount vs what we have today.

So secure the border the 90-95% of the way we can, stop all the things illegals come expecting, and the problem is 99.9% solved which I'm sure we'll all be happy enough with.

Exactly, that's how we secure the border. Starve them out, make it impossible to live in the U.S. and they will leave. This is what we must work on. Now we launch our non-stop offensive.