The Senate seems poised to pass an immigration reform bill today and like much of what Congress does, it will be almost useless.
For the last week, America watched as hundreds of thousands of protesters, many if not most of whom are here illegally, took to the streets waving Mexican flags. It’s true that some of those involved carried American flags, but many of those folks were attacked by other Mexicans for the apparent crime of possessing the American flag.
Some pro-Latino organizations like the League of United Latin American Citizens are claiming that the majority of illegals really do want to become American citizens and they display the Mexican flag only as a demonstration of cultural pride. That may be true although there’s plenty of evidence suggesting that illegal Mexicans would like to “take Back” the Southwestern U.S.
I said that the immigration bill would be almost useless, but the way it appears to be structured, it should be good for at least one thing. It will determine if Mexican illegals really are serious about becoming U.S. citizens.
The bill calls for Mexicans who have been here between 2 and 5 years to return home for a short period of time, then return as a guest worker on their way to full citizenship. Those who have been here longer than 5 years need not return home, but those here less than 2 years must return to Mexico and get in line to seek citizenship the old-fashioned way.
So since there will most likely be no serious sanctions against employers who hire illegals, the whole thing becomes voluntary. Mexicans who are here now illegally for less than 5 years and have no real desire to become U.S. citizens will have no incentive to follow the new rules. If millions of them step forward to comply, then the Latino organizations mentioned earlier will be proved right.
My guess is that the Congressional leadership knows this bill won’t work but also knows that it takes the issue off the table until well after the elections.