Presidency hangs on illegal immigration
If Social Security is the third rail of politics ("touch it and you die") for politicians, then immigration must be the next.
No other issue has aroused the emotions of more Americans than that of the recent failed attempt of the political class to pass comprehensive immigration reform.
Go ask Sen. John McCain, last year's presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
He led the "it's not amnesty" fight in the U.S. Senate until the tidal wave of public opposition killed the bill and seriously impaired his political aspirations.
Go ask Republican contenders Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani who accused each other of presiding over a "sanctuary city" and "sanctuary mansion" to get votes.
Even Hillary Clinton stubbed her toe when asked about driver's licenses for illegals.
It took the junior senator from New York several days of equivocation and checking the political winds to reach her conclusion of "no."
How did we get into this mess? It wasn't until 1986 that legislation was passed to ban the employment of illegal immigrants, or "undocumented workers," as the politically correct crowd would put it.
But there was no enforcement of the law because businesses enjoyed the cheap labor pool, and politicians did not want to offend the fastest growing segment of the population.
In fact, the institutionalization of the Spanish language ("press 1 for English, press 2 for Spanish") has encouraged the flow of foreigners to our country.
Now, we have an estimated 12 to 20 million people in our country illegal. Two thirds of them have sneaked in while a third have overstayed their visas. The vast majority have come from our neighbor to the south.
The events of 9/11 have pushed the issue of illegal immigration issue to the forefront. It is now a question of national security. We need to know who is in the country, and what they're doing here. We must secure our borders.
The politician who can finesse the illegal immigration issue will become the next president of the United States.
Tom L. Jones
Pingree Grove