Immigration Reform Dies

The push for Federal immigration reform is now, unofficially dead. Immigration activists pushing for the last eight years under both President George Bush and President Barack Obama for measures to legalize nearly twelve million people who are currently in the United States unlawfully will be very disappointed.

The significant Republican victories in November’s election are not the tipping point in this debate. The icing on the cake came directly from President Obama. The actions by the President through executive order to begin processing papers for up to five million of (and let’s use the legal terminology) illegal aliens, is the final nail in the coffin of immigration compromise.

President Obama, in ignoring the clear wording of existing immigration law and the will of the American people has ensured that no immigration bill will ever be produced. Polling released in December shows the American people oppose the Presidents executive action by a 2-1 margin. Emboldened by these figures, Republicans passed a new, one year continuing budget last year, with only one caveat, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), that oversees immigration enforcement was only funded through February 27th.

In a direct challenge to the President’s executive amnesty plan, the House of Representatives passed a funding measure for DHS that also invalidates the President’s plan. The new Senate minority party has filibustered the measure three times, denying funding to the Department and protecting the President from having to make an embarrassing veto.

Regardless of the outcome of the DHS funding issue, any effort at reforming our immigration system is now, incontrovertibly and unceremoniously, dead. Even in the face of significant and legitimate opposition to amnesty legislation by the base of the Republican Party, many leaders in Congress have stated that a compromise on the immigration issue was possible. Two years ago, the Senate did pass, with significant Republican support, an intrinsically flawed immigration measure. Having learned from the failure of the 1986 Immigration Reform Act, House Republican’s correctly rejected it.

The President’s executive action to effectively legalize and provide work authorization to millions of people is not likely to succeed. Whether funded or not, any executive action by a sitting President can be reversed by his successor with another order. This would mean that those persons “coming out of the shadows” as the President likes to put it, will be in the sunlight when or if the order is reversed. President Obama is asking these folks to roll the dice.

The ongoing battle now between President Obama and Congress, will likely continue through the last months of his term.

The actions of the President, in violation of the law and the Constitution, have now tainted any ability to compromise on this issue. The taint will go far beyond his presidency. It is likely to be permanent in this generation.