Democrats should watch out.
Immigration, legal or illegal, is a very complex subject. This is why it is smart for Republicans to throw this issue out there to divide people on the left.
Maybe the Republican congress has no intentions on passing this bill, but they do intend to use it to win in November because an immigration debate will inflame people in the right. And Republicans are hoping to inflame it enough to bring people to vote for their party in November.
Fortunately, we as Democrats can avoid the divisiveness of this debate as long as we look at it from a different perspective.
Different people have different reason why they object or are in favor of immigration. So, if we state what worries us about immigration, and try to find ways of managing those worries, we can reach consensus very quickly. This is how I found common ground debating the issue with right-wing conservatives in the past.
Immigration per se is not a problem. What people fear is:
1. The danger of criminals crossing the border
2. Sudden increase in population
3. American workers being displaced by cheap labor
4. Fear of cultural displacement
5. The security risk of having a porous border
And these are the forces that encourage illegal immigration
1. Businesses that would not be able to survive
Without employing illegal labor such as restaurants, hotels, and farms.
2. American families, whose weaker buying power would not be able to withstand a sudden rise in the prices of food and other services which a total ban on illegal immigration would bring.
If we as Democrats address each of these worries rationally and humanely, as Democrats tend to do, we can actually meet most of these concerns.
Here are a few points that a sensible immigration policy should have:
1. Always protect the American worker. HB-1 or guest worker permits shouldn't be granted if the unemployment rate in a given job category is higher than a given threshold.
2. Give economic incentives to help businesses that rely on illegal workers to hire American workers so that they can eventually survive without having to pay bottom wages.
3. Secure the border with a well-funded border patrol.
4. Grant guest-worker permits to Mexicans and Central Americans, the main source of illegal immigration to the U.S. It will help us to know who is in the country and for which companies the immigrants are working. This will help keep out common criminals and strengthen home land security.
Why not encourage companies to hire people in Mexico or Central America, so that there can be controlled distribution of the immigrants throughout the U.S. to lower their environmental impact.
These are just ideas, of course. But I have found them useful when discussing the issue with right-wing conservatives.