July 9, 2008 2:16 PM
It seems like a century ago, but it is just twelve months since Immigration Reform died in Congress. This article begins a new twenty-part series on reforming our immigration laws.
The Immigration Reform (ImRef) Series will look at the 2007 effort at Congressional reform, the bill it generated, and the reasons for last year's failure, as well as the implications of the collapse of the reform movement. ImRef will also examine efforts to revive reform and talk to the people on the front line of the push to change our laws. I'll also provide a detailed analysis of the immigration proposals of major political leaders.
Last year, some aspects of the reform proposal were so revolutionary that many in the immigrant rights movement could not understand how they would work. I'll try to cover all the possibilities for future legislation so that you are not shocked when the next bill comes out.
ImRef will also ground any discussion of reform in the real world of lived politics. No point in dreaming, any new law has to pass the House and Senate and be signed into law by the President. So it has to be something that draws not the ire of a majority of citizens. No amount of politically correct prattle will change that part of the equation.