New York Times Editorial - Civil debate on immigration
Civil debate on immigration
Copyright By The New York Times
TUESDAY, MARCH 28, 2006
Something powerful pulled more than half a million people onto the streets of Los Angeles on Saturday, turning 26 downtown blocks into a pulsing sea of white T-shirts and American flags. A veteran police commander said that in 38 years he had never seen a march so huge. Its target was a harsh immigration bill passed by the House that would erect a wall on the southern U.S. border and turn 12 million illegal immigrants - and any who give them aid - into a nation of felons.
The demonstrations have been timed to a climactic showdown for immigration reform in the capital. On Monday, the Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled debate and a vote on a bill offered by its chairman, Arlen Specter. Unlike the House bill, it seeks comprehensive overhaul of immigration laws - not just tighter borders and stricter enforcement, but also a sensible path to legal status for illegal workers already here and others who want to come.
Specter and his colleagues are working under intense pressure, since the Senate majority leader, Bill Frist, has threatened to put forward a hard- line enforcement bill if the committee fails to complete its work on Monday. Senate staffs were racing over the weekend to nail down compromises before Monday's deadline. Anti-immigrant forces, meanwhile, stand ready to try to torpedo anything other than a strictly get-tough approach.
That would be an awful outcome for immigrant advocates and for President George W. Bush, who has long argued for comprehensive reform and tried, with limited success, to steer his party away from the one-note harshness of the wall-building crowd.
Last week, Bush urged Congress to have a civil, respectful discussion about the issue. But with looming elections and Republican presidential jockeying casting a distorting fuzz over the debate, it may be too late for Bush's hands-off approach. If the president really wants a sensible reform bill to reach his desk, he will have to do more than stand on the sidelines, urging everyone to have good manners.
Copyright By The New York Times
TUESDAY, MARCH 28, 2006
Something powerful pulled more than half a million people onto the streets of Los Angeles on Saturday, turning 26 downtown blocks into a pulsing sea of white T-shirts and American flags. A veteran police commander said that in 38 years he had never seen a march so huge. Its target was a harsh immigration bill passed by the House that would erect a wall on the southern U.S. border and turn 12 million illegal immigrants - and any who give them aid - into a nation of felons.
The demonstrations have been timed to a climactic showdown for immigration reform in the capital. On Monday, the Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled debate and a vote on a bill offered by its chairman, Arlen Specter. Unlike the House bill, it seeks comprehensive overhaul of immigration laws - not just tighter borders and stricter enforcement, but also a sensible path to legal status for illegal workers already here and others who want to come.
Specter and his colleagues are working under intense pressure, since the Senate majority leader, Bill Frist, has threatened to put forward a hard- line enforcement bill if the committee fails to complete its work on Monday. Senate staffs were racing over the weekend to nail down compromises before Monday's deadline. Anti-immigrant forces, meanwhile, stand ready to try to torpedo anything other than a strictly get-tough approach.
That would be an awful outcome for immigrant advocates and for President George W. Bush, who has long argued for comprehensive reform and tried, with limited success, to steer his party away from the one-note harshness of the wall-building crowd.
Last week, Bush urged Congress to have a civil, respectful discussion about the issue. But with looming elections and Republican presidential jockeying casting a distorting fuzz over the debate, it may be too late for Bush's hands-off approach. If the president really wants a sensible reform bill to reach his desk, he will have to do more than stand on the sidelines, urging everyone to have good manners.
posted by Carlos T Mock at 8:22 AM
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