The times...

…they are a-changing
I am hopeful that the immigration issue is finally getting some attention with the Democrats. I’ve written about the Hillary question. That is exactly what needs to happen. It does my heart good to see some debate about it. It is no longer taboo for a reporter to ask about tougher enforcement.

And it is no longer acceptable for a politician to take a vague stand, leaving themselves some room to move on the issue.

I also see that the DREAM act has failed again. This is supposed to be the softball issue. After all, you’ve got these college kids willing to go to school and earn citizenship that way. Who could be against that?

Well, the Senators are getting an earful just like they did last time DREAM came up. And just like they got when they tried to railroad the nation on comprehensive immigration reform.

We are seeing some movement at the state level as well. The Oklahoma package seems to be holding with the courts. Illinois has been trying to muster enough votes in the state senate to pass their Driving Certificates for illegals, but they have been three or four votes short for over three months now.

With the whipping they are giving Spitzer in New York, I think the general climate will give them pause at this point.

And I just read that Chertoff over at Homeland Security ended the fiscal year with 261,000 deportations, a fine showing for an administration that hates doing it. Now, my theory is that the lesson will be learned once we reach about one million deportations in a years’ time. If we can do that for a couple of years, visibly and without apology, we will deter future illegal entry.

There must be some high visibility prosecutions of employers as well. And effective screening of job applicants. And tough border security. But this can work.

I’m convinced that you don’t need to “seal” the border; just have an active and tough presence there. And they must perceive that there is a better than even chance they will either be denied a job or be caught in a raid at work.

Then they will take their families and go home. Then they will tell friends and family on the other side of the border, “Things are not like before. It is too risky to come to America. The old days are over.”

Latino activists want us to believe the illegals feel they have a right to be here. I think they know they have no legitimate case for being here and are more than willing to go home when pressure is applied.