Here's a Radical Comprehensive Immigration Plan: Increase the Numbers Who Can Come Legally
President Obama has kicked off his next legislative initiative in his perpetual campaign to avoid having to talk about how his economic interventions are reaping the whirlwind: Comprehensive Immigration Reform, an issue that has been the graveyard of presidents every bit as much as Arlington Cemetery.
Here's Obama troweling on the rhetoric to obscure the utter lack of substance:
"The process of who is and who isn't allowed to enter this country and on what terms has always been contentious, and that remains true," Obama told an audience of 250, including lawmakers and reform advocates.
While he said amnesty would be "unwise and unfair," he also said apprehending all undocumented migrants would be impossible. He argued the border was now more secure than at any time in the past 20 years and that reform in other areas was now needed.
"We can create a pathway for legal status that is fair, reflective of our values, and works," he said. "The question now is whether we will have the courage and political will."
Whatever. Whole thing here.
Here's an idea that should jazz up all those folks who say that "illegal" immigration is such a big problem: Create a system that allows in (legally!) a total number of travelers that is roughly equal to total migration by legal and illegals. Hey, problem solved!
As we slide into the Fourth of July weekend, check out this Dan Hayes Reason.tv joint that reminds us why immigrants still flock to a country that can't even beat Ghana in the World Cup.