As we observe the stalemate over immigration reform I am reminded of 2008, a wonderful time for me personally but clearly also a harbinger of things to come in a larger sense. In short, we still can't figure it out.
In 2008 I participated in The Great American Think-off, a philosophy contest sponsored by the Cultural Center in New York Mills, Minnesota. Each year they pose a question, asking for essays supporting one side or the other of the issue. From those they select two finalists from each viewpoint to come to a public debate. The winner is crowned "America's Greatest Thinker"...perhaps a somewhat grandiose title, but it's their choice not mine.
The question in 2008 was simple:
Does immigration strengthen or threaten the United States?
I took the position of threaten, and I won. However, don't assume I don't like the idea of immigration, and do NOT equate immigration with immigrants. They are two completely, though obviously related, issues.
(I hoped to put a link to the essay here, but the site is under re-construction and 2008 hasn't been re-created yet)
I'm saddened to say that nothing has changed since then. In truth, it's only gotten worse.
Why did I say immigration threatened the United States? Simply because we can't even have a civil conversation about it, and that has only gotten much worse.
In the final years of the Bush II presidency, both the President and Congress declared that solving the problem, or at least working on solving the problem, was a front-burner issue. It was Important. Really Important. Senators and Representatives declared that something must be done, and people on both sides of the aisle actually supported many of the same ideas. Yes, there were differences, but also a lot of common ground.
The net result was...Zip! Nada! Nothing! Although a couple of bills were drafted, they never made it further than preliminary discussions. Congress couldn't even do the things that everybody agreed upon. They did...NOTHING!
Ever since that time, the issue has continued to be raised, by both parties. There is clearly not total agreement on things, but, yet again, Congress cannot act...or chooses not to act. The Senate passed a bill and sent it to the House. Speaker Boehner isn't willing to bring it to a vote, mainly because some in his caucus don't want to see anything done, while others simply don't like having to be put on the record with a vote. There is little doubt it would likely pass, gathering bi-partisan support to collect more than the needed majority.
So, the President has acted, and I can't blame him. We all KNOW something needs to happen, but Congress won't do anything...by choice. I see no reason to expect the new Congress to be any different.
There a couple observations worth considering.
First, Congress needs to get over the fear and hatred of the word Compromise. It's not a dirty word. It is, as we all know, the only way anything ever gets done. When individuals insist on All-or-Nothing...the American people end up with nothing. Every one of us has learned to compromise, and it's time Congress went back to discussing and debating the issues rather than posturing for the cameras and demonizing the "other side."
Second, in the same vein, Congress needs to get over the word Amnesty. There are several realities associated with undocumented (or illegal) aliens. They are here, so get over it. Most of them are working, usually doing jobs "Americans" don't want to do. If we actually required them all to leave, a rather popular idea in some circles, the American economy would shudder to a painful recession, most fresh produce would rot in the fields, and the yelling and screaming would echo through the vacuum of space clear to the moon.
From a practical standpoint, these people, like it or not, are a significant part of the American economy. And...all those rich folks wouldn't be able to find landscaping contractors to mow their lawns and rake their leaves either...that alone should cause them to put their fears aside!
Third, requiring people to leave the country to apply to come back in is just plain Stupid. Not only does it make no sense, since where they are physically when they apply doesn't change a damn thing, it's clearly just punitive. The President has proposed a pathway to legality that includes some fines and payments...and that's enough. Ted Cruz doesn't need his pound of flesh too.
In short, 7 years on Immigration still threatens the United States. Immigrants actually strengthen us, but the idea remains so threatening that we still can't have a civil conversation about it.