Immigration Bill, Next

Michael Barone has got it right. He acknowledges that those who supported the immigration bill need to rethink it. Why did the majority of the voting public reject it? Michael identifies the enemy.

..the enemy here is the us that have not enforced the law -- the executive and legislative branches, which have let the promise of the 1986 immigration law to become a dead letter and the voters who have not punished elected officials for doing so.

When we opposed the bill, it wasn't necessarily about giving instant amnesty to illegals, nor the guest worker provisions. It was the fact we didn't trust that any of the enforcement provisions provided in the bill; border security, employer sanctions, or tamper proof IDs, were going to be done. No administration has enforced current immigration laws in the past and the Bush administration isn't all that enthused about doing it now. We weren't about to let the 1986 immigration bill happen again.

There's not much hope that Congress will pass a big immigration bill this year or next. But the administration, by charging ahead on border security and setting the stage for a national identity card, can move the public toward accepting a comprehensive immigration bill in the years ahead.

I hope President Bush take Michael's suggestions. President Bush will not get his big immigration bill, but he can go a long ways in setting the ground work. If he just gets the border secure, he be remembered for seriously dealing with the illegal immigration problem, and also for taking the security of the U.S. seriously.