New York Times Editorial - An immigration victory
New York Times Editorial - An immigration victory
Copyright by The New York Time
MONDAY, MAY 29, 2006
Americans should be proud of what the U.S. Senate did last week. It passed an ambitious bill that could lead to the most far-reaching overhaul of immigration laws in America's history. It did so after months of thoughtful debate and through a bipartisan compromise, a creature that many thought had vanished from Capitol Hill. The bill has many flaws, but its framework is realistic and humane.
The Senate has given the cause of immigration reform a lot of momentum, which it will need since it is now heading for a brick wall: the House of Representatives. The House Judiciary Committee chairman, James Sensenbrenner, in the role of head brick, called the Senate bill "a nonstarter" the morning after it passed.
The House's immigration bill is tough on security. But so is the Senate's. The House wants 700 miles of new fencing on the Mexican border; the Senate wants 370, with another 500 miles of vehicle barriers. That looks like mere miles apart to us.
But when you add the real crux of the debate - the future flow of temporary workers and a path to citizenship for America's shadow population of 11 million to 12 million illegal immigrants - things do get tricky.
Many polls show that the American public has moved decisively toward favoring a comprehensive immigration solution: tightening security and giving illegal immigrants a chance to seek the burdens and benefits of citizenship. But those in the Sensenbrenner camp are clinging to a fantasy that only a clenched fist will set America's immigrant problems right. They have refused to treat illegal immigrants as anything but outlaws, and oppose the Senate bill's citizenship path.
There is a huge gap between the House and the Senate, but it can be bridged, and President George W. Bush should bridge it. The coalition that passed the Senate bill has handed Bush an opportunity to lead the United States to a better place. He should spend every last shred of his political capital and skill to take it.
Copyright by The New York Time
MONDAY, MAY 29, 2006
Americans should be proud of what the U.S. Senate did last week. It passed an ambitious bill that could lead to the most far-reaching overhaul of immigration laws in America's history. It did so after months of thoughtful debate and through a bipartisan compromise, a creature that many thought had vanished from Capitol Hill. The bill has many flaws, but its framework is realistic and humane.
The Senate has given the cause of immigration reform a lot of momentum, which it will need since it is now heading for a brick wall: the House of Representatives. The House Judiciary Committee chairman, James Sensenbrenner, in the role of head brick, called the Senate bill "a nonstarter" the morning after it passed.
The House's immigration bill is tough on security. But so is the Senate's. The House wants 700 miles of new fencing on the Mexican border; the Senate wants 370, with another 500 miles of vehicle barriers. That looks like mere miles apart to us.
But when you add the real crux of the debate - the future flow of temporary workers and a path to citizenship for America's shadow population of 11 million to 12 million illegal immigrants - things do get tricky.
Many polls show that the American public has moved decisively toward favoring a comprehensive immigration solution: tightening security and giving illegal immigrants a chance to seek the burdens and benefits of citizenship. But those in the Sensenbrenner camp are clinging to a fantasy that only a clenched fist will set America's immigrant problems right. They have refused to treat illegal immigrants as anything but outlaws, and oppose the Senate bill's citizenship path.
There is a huge gap between the House and the Senate, but it can be bridged, and President George W. Bush should bridge it. The coalition that passed the Senate bill has handed Bush an opportunity to lead the United States to a better place. He should spend every last shred of his political capital and skill to take it.
posted by Carlos T Mock at 8:32 AM
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