Originally posted at the America’s Voice blog.
Too much of the time, conventional wisdom in Washington downplays the possibility of passing real, comprehensive immigration reform. While the naysayers are busy saying it’s too hard, however, Cokie Roberts, news analyst for NPR, claims immigration reform – though challenging – is the “right stuff.”
She minces no words, arguing:
The current immigration system is an abomination on every level.
In an Op-Ed piece for the Trentonian today, Cokie explains that there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about fixing our broken immigration system – not only is it good news for our economy, but the majority of Americans favor a path towards citizenship for the undocumented:
An ABC News/Washington Post poll last spring found that 61 percent favored giving illegal immigrants a chance at citizenship “if they pay a fine and meet other requirements.”
And by more than two to one, Americans told a Gallup survey last year that immigration was “a good thing,” not a “bad thing.”
Perhaps chief among her reasoning that reform will pass is the growing acknowledgement by the GOP that the Latino vote is essential if Republicans want to avoid becoming the incredible shrinking party:
Smart Republicans know what George W. Bush and John McCain – leaders on immigration reform – have always known: The GOP cannot be the majority party by driving away Hispanics, the fastest-growing demographic group in the country. That’s why some Republican senators are already talking to Democrats about bipartisan legislation.
Not passing immigration reform would be as if Conservatives were rejecting their own agenda. After all, Cokie notes, immigration reform does encompass at least three values that are Conservative and somewhat “Christian” in nature — family unity, law and order and free market. And as Cokie wrote in 2006, if Conservatives “turn their backs on people who share their values and their dreams, they deserve the political disaster about to engulf them.”
Categories: comprehensive immigration reform
