Opinion: The Steep Climb For Immigration Reform Continues
June 14, 2013 
The steep climb toward comprehensive immigration reform has been on the march for many years. Just when there is hope an agreement might be reached, an outcry from the public or political deadlock derails the effort and the climb starts anew.
As I write this column, it seems this might be the case for the latest iteration of immigration reform — the Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013 — which was pushed by the “gang of eight” Senators. It was co-sponsored by our own Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and drew wide support from agriculture groups across the nation. But, in advance of debate on the Senate floor, proponents of the bill were scrambling to get the 60 affirmative votes needed to provide filibuster passage.
By the time you read this, its passage from the Senate will likely have seen its yays or nays. If the yays have it, then it is off to the House of Representatives were the climb is even steeper. Political punditry was already beginning to suggest the entire reform could be in trouble.
As always, the major obstacles in the debate are amnesty and border security. Proponents of the bill call it a “pathway to citizenship.” Hard-line opponents, whether lawmakers or American voters, call it amnesty. And, opponents of the bill say there is no way they will vote for anything without strong tightening of border security.
Those in agriculture know full well the depths of opposition against reform. The voice of agriculture has been drowned out by those against previous attempts to pass a bill, even though in the grand scheme of things, agriculture’s request has been simple. We want a reasonable and workable work visa program.
It is always interesting to observe how the game is played in the course of political debate in Washington, DC. One tactic used in this latest debate was an attempt convince opponents this latest reform effort is really tough. After all, those conservative hard liners want tough action against illegal immigration, right?
With that in mind, an aggressive TV and radio ad campaign was launched to convince those hard-line opponents that the status quo in and of itself is “De facto amnesty.” The one thing they fear the most. The ads, in support of the gang of eight reform, goes on to say — “no food stamps; no welfare; and no Obamacare” — for immigrants, while they wait in line for citizenship. Wow! Language like that is sure to send a thrill up Rush Limbaugh’s leg.
Scan the dial of conservative talk radio and these ads were running wall-to-wall trying to convince people to support the reform effort. Whether you agree with them or not, the folks who listen to talk radio and watch Fox News know when they are being pandered to.
I suspect the warning bells went off in those opponents’ minds when they heard or saw these ads. When something like that is so over-the-top, it is not much of leap to suspect you are being played. Whether the De facto amnesty argument is correct or not, I wouldn’t be surprised if those ads only heightened opposition against the current reform among some people.
Let’s play politics supposing the reform does pass with the “no food stamps, no welfare, etc.” language intact. How long do you suppose it will take before some advocacy group sues the government, challenging the constitutionality of denying these benefits to people as they wait in line for citizenship? My guess is pretty quick.
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