Also, Sbane, the border patrol has said that if you really want help them, hire more ICE officials and crackdown on the employers. That would be more help then adding a few thousand more border patrol. You can't stop it at the border, you need to have a strong interior enforcement operation to really get control of the problem as well as tight border security.
Oh of course cracking down on employers is the best thing to do. But it's not as if either party is interested in doing it. Or at least they are using it as a political football. You only get the crackdown on employers if it's packaged with amnesty kind of deal. Republicans would probably like to add a guest worker program. Here's to hoping something gets done soon but it's unlikely anyone is going to touch comprehensive immigration reform in an election year.
It appears that 1) "We need more border patrol" and 2) "We need to crackdown on employers" have become an effective cover for Obama and co. to appear tough on the border while at the same time keeping Hispanics from revolting.
"We only get the crackdown on employers if it's packaged with amnesty kind of deal"
That is so full of lol. Any bill that includes amnesty will guarrentee that any enforcement mechanisms within will never be enforced. Within three years of the Reagan amnesty, many of these groups called for yet another amnesty, held protests, and raised hell whenever worksite enforcement was attempted.
Comprehensive immigration reform is dead. There are over 200 Reps who have signed a discharge petition on the Save Act and atleast 30 more who, support it publically were it to come to the floor, but Pelosi has managed to keep from signing the petition. This bill would pass with 250+ votes or more in the House. Compare that with Luis Guitierrez's bill supported by Obama, Pelosi and Reid. It has about 100 supporters. In the senate, the number of irreconciliable NO votes is growing as Lott, Bennet, Craig, Hagel, Bond, and Brownback have or will be replaced by likely no votes: Wicker, Lee, Risch, Johanns, Blunt, and Moran. If Rubio wins in FL, it will also join the list. Not to mention that Lincoln will be losing to Boozeman for sure. Kyl likely is never going to vote aye again (he voted no in 2006). Also the two Georgia Senators and the Tennessee Senators are unlikely to be bribed with a Guest Worker Program again (they actually abandoned the deal before the vote in 2007,anyway). Also Hutchinson wanted touchback provisions and she might have voted Aye but when she is gone, I think its likely to join the list of six above.
Issa made it clear on CBS this morning that Amnesty is a non starter with the GOP now and if Obama wants to make a deal with the GOP he will have to drop it. I think he speaks for most of the GOP House and Senate caucus in saying that.
