Politico's "Dear 44" Covers Immigration, But Not Reform

D.C. politics newspaper Politico has an ongoing feature "Dear 44" that is about "Ideas for the Next President." This week, the Chamber of Commerce and Center for American Progress, both part of the broad amnesty coalition offer their advice. Missing from the debate is any real acknowledgement that enforcement is needed and that the sine qua non of immigration policy is not to provide more employees or to benefit illegal aliens but to benefit America as a whole.

Randel Johnson with the Chamber says, "The U.S. Chamber of Commerce supports a comprehensive immigration reform plan with the following components: increased border security; an improved verification system that is fast, accurate, and reliable for determining whether an employee is truly authorized to work in the United States; a new temporary worker program that allows employers to recruit workers from abroad when they cannot find U.S. workers; and, under certain strict qualification criteria, a reasonable pathway to legal status for undocumented workers presently in the United States."

Daniel Restrepo with CAP says, "To achieve that control, the president will have to work with Congress to leave behind the hate-filled demagoguery that defines the immigration debate. The new administration and Congress must instead focus on practical, effective solutions to our country’s immigration challenge. Any such proposal must require illegal immigrants to become legal. It is unacceptable to have 12 million or more people living in the shadows of society. And it is impractical to try to drive them out of the country through deportation."