Bob and Kevin,
I think I saw a cartoon that sums up your position: in a long line at Ellis Island, one guy finally gets to the counter when it's his turn and says, "We need immigration reform. Don't let anybody in behind me."
And just for the record, plenty of legal immigrants marched on April 10 and rallied at Johnson's office May 1. They aren't all "I got mine" and some (like MY wife, by the way, as long as we're scoring closeness to immigrants) recognize that (1) if you're not American Indian, you're descended from illegal immigrants, and (2) even granted the USA's dubious authority at some historical point to decide who comes and goes in this country -regardless of international law- the US moved its border several times deeper into Mexico, so we really asked for a sieve-like border there.
And that's not to mention the parasitic economy we maintain with regard to Latin America, which provides the incentive. Maquiladoras don't just happen. Neither do US-backed coups d'etats.
Braceros and other immigrant farm workers in the US don't pour in because the feds and the growers and other bosses are charitable organizations -- THE BOSSES MAKE MONEY THIS WAY!!!
And the notorious School of the Americas (even if Congress changed the name) doesn't exactly train boy scouts.
It's easy to pass a law that nobody can sleep under a bridge -- if you know you'll never need to. |