Democrats' Iimmigration Plan Shows Shift Toward Republican Views

[tekisui]

Source:Washington Post

As rallies protesting the controversial Arizona immigration law unfold in 80 U.S. cities Saturday, a new Senate Democratic plan to overhaul the nation's immigration laws shows how far the debate has shifted to the right since Congress took up the issue in 2007, advocates on both sides said.

The Democrats' legislative "framework" includes a slew of new immigration enforcement measures aimed at U.S. borders and workplaces. It would further expand the 20,000-member Border Patrol; triple fines against U.S. employers that hire illegal immigrants; and, most controversially, require all American workers -- citizens and noncitizens alike -- to get new Social Security cards linked to their fingerprints to ease checks of their work eligibility.

The plan's emphasis on "securing the border first" rather than on setting out steps to allow many of an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants living in the U.S. to pay fines and apply for legal status was plainly an entreaty to Republicans. Even so, no Republican is supporting the framework, including Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), who worked with Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) on bipartisan talks for months before publicly breaking with the effort in April.

The Democrats' shift underscores how, in the struggle between enforcement advocates and legalization backers, the former seem to be gaining, experts said. "There is now a much stronger consensus than you had five or six years ago on workplace enforcement and border enforcement," said Edward Alden, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/01/AR2010050100990.html

[underpants]

1. The solution is to have processing points like Baltimore, SF, or Ellis Island

but that would mean that employers (including those who recruit "illegals" Smithfield packing for example) to pay higher wages which would mean all our wages would (in a real economy) increase AND the "illegals" could organize.....so that will never happen

[rurallib]

2. stimulus plan shifted to repub as did HC

why not immigration?

[tekisui]

3. I want real Democrats.

:-(