The Politics of Immigration

Immigration reform is going to be a major, major issue in the upcoming elections. How it is handled and how it is spun will decide the fate of both parties.

Salena Zito in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review makes several interesting points.

First,

Immigration reform is the wedge issue for the midterm elections, escalating to new heights with all the grace of a wedgie gone atomic. (You know the kind, where someone's boxers are unnaturally lifted above his shoulder blades.)
The in-your-face May Day rallies last Monday were the moment it went atomic.

Second,

This country is staring down the second-largest wave of immigrants to hit its shores since the early 20th century. Many argue that the process to legally enter our country is burdensome and does not reflect labor needs -- ignoring the basic economic rules of supply and demand.

While that may be true, it still does not give anyone a free pass. We are a rule-of-law nation, and if we forget that then we should forget our little republican experiment and become France.

The immigrants who entered our country 100 years ago were just as poor, just as unskilled and just as motivated for a better life as our southern-border migrants.

Third:

But the glaring difference is that the first wave came to be part of this country. After their little May Day march, you get the feeling the new immigrants are coming to take over the country.