commentaries

Good column. I equate gun control legislation with immigration reform legislation. Both are hot button issues. Extremes on each side think you can get rid of their nemeses (illegal immigrants and assault weapons) with the wave of a wand or signature of a pen. Neither want to listen to anyone but those who agree with them. Neither will help to even enforce laws on the books. And both are beholden to special interest groups rather that looking at the whole.

Put a bounty on illegals and open it up the private sector to find them. The problem will be solved within a few years. We also need to make English the official language once and for all. One nation, one language. Would save billions....

True Story - Paraphrasing the remarks once heard by a liberal, "The U.S. Government cannot prevent anyone from immigrating to the U.S. because that would be discrimination." | Fact of the matter is the U.S. has an obligation to have an immigration policy that first and foremost ensures the security of the nation. The U.S. cannot accept criminals (e.g., as Castro exported in the '80's), cannot accept those with significant health concerns (polio, AIDS, etc.), cannot accept those just to live off social programs (which is why sponsorship is needed). Immigration is also not unique to any ethnicity.

Oh, come on. The GOP's newfound support of immigration reform is the result of one thing and one thing only: they got their clocks cleaned by Hispanic voters in the 2012 election. You will never convince me that the party of the "papers, please" Arizona law (praised by Mitt Romney as a "marvelous first step") has the interests of immigrants at heart--although the business wing of the GOP does love the cheap labor.

Anybody talking about balancing immigration policy with that laser focus on jobs for unemployed UC Citizens or is the US Congress just gonna plow ahead and bury the unemployed with more cheap foreign labor?

The democrat party has been talking for a long time about immigration reform, but did nothing about it

Literate, able to learn to read and write English within 3 years, no criminal record, no entitlements ( unearned) for 10 years, have a profession or trade that is in demand. Then we'll talk. Entering the U.S. illegally is a crime. 8% unemployment. We need 11 million illegals made legal? I think not.

After the shellacking the GOP took in the last election cycle from minorities - an estimated 91% of Latinos voted for Obama - it doesn't take a rocket scientist to predict a change in the Republican narrative on immigration. We now see the early stages of this attempt to alter the conservative image on immigration, and the disinformation really piles up in Ms Flowers commentary. "Congress understands when there's someone in office who is serious about making change" is perhaps whopper of the bunch, and certainly the most amusing, given the Party of No's reception to just about anything Obama proposed during his first term. I sincerely hope the GOP has a change of heart concerning immigration. I sincerely hope the coalition of Senators can work with this administration to bring real reform. Unfortunately, I doubt the sincerity of the Republican transformation. I think it's more about votes than anything else. Business as usual from the right.......