Immigration

I don’t want this blog to get terribly political, but many of you know that it is an interest, and so occasionally I like to put down some ideas about certain issues. I’ve had a few thoughts about a current situation that is important to me and quite relevant around here. Unfortunately, I wrote this down a few days ago, and it has since become a moot point. The bill being discussed was effectively killed on Thursday, bringing a healthy discussion to a disappointing end, but I still would like to post my thoughts. Please respond if you have suggestions for or against, I’m still interested in discussing it, because it is still a pressing problem.
The U.S. Senate had been discussing a comprehensive immigration bill, which was dead in the water a month ago but back on the table in the last week. It was an attempt to find a much-needed solution to the issue of 12 million undocumented citizens, living and working, albeit illegally, in the States, often being exploited, and in a state of constant fear and insecurity. Thankfully most people outside of a few loud TV personalities have realized that it would be at once impractical, devastating to the economy, and most importantly, immoral to attempt to deport all 12 million souls, yet neither is it right to allow the system which caused this situation to continue. What impressed me, in part, about the bill was that it was a real genuine compromise between two highly divided sides, on a politically valuable issue. From my moderate perspective, any time you can see Ted Kennedy and a border-state Republican (John Kyl) agree on something, progress has been made. It seems to happen far too little in the world’s greatest deliberative body. The Republicans primarily conceded a path to citizenship for those already here and Democrats conceded tougher border laws and a change in the system to prefer those with competitive skills over family ties. The bill certainly has its critics, and to be sure, its faults. Because it offers a path out of the shadows for undocumented immigrants, many on the right cry, “amnesty!” (why a word like that is used negatively as a weapon by those who claim to press the Christian or moral agenda is beyond me). Those on the left criticize the guest-worker program and the shift in priorities for citizenship (skills over family). Their second point seems to have merit, and again seems to be a bit of an incongruous move by the “pro-family” party. Still, for all its flaws, I think the bill was a step in the right direction. Adjustments could still have been made later, and something needs to be done. President Bush is to be commended for his support of the bill, despite the outcry from his more extreme Republican associates.
Immigration is a difficult issue, and like most, far more complicated than the sound-bites or talk-radio invective would have us believe. It is a biblical issue - scripture has a lot to say about the way we treat our neighbor, particularly the foreigner living among us. It is about life and death, and needs to be weighed very carefully. The angry, unblinking rhetoric on both sides has not helped us toward a solution; this bi-partisan bill just might have.