Immigration Reform Stalled on Capitol Hill; Distractions Abound

By Joe Guzzardi
February 25, 2013

With Congress reconvening this week, now’s a good time to evaluate comprehensive immigration reform’s progress—or lack thereof. What began nearly two months ago with enormous fanfare and intensive media trumpeting has died down to a whisper. Despite the Senate’s so called “Gang of Eight” (GOE) promises, no legislation is in sight. Even amnesty’s biggest advocates, immigration lawyers, predict that a full bill won’t reach the Senate until May or June at the earliest.

Although proponents won’t admit the truth, a harsh dose of reality has stalled the amnesty process. Because of his insistence that secure borders must come first, Senator Marco Rubio has been thrown under the bus twice, first by his GOE colleague Chuck Schumer and then by President Obama who last week, without advance notice, released his own version of what amnesty legislation should look like.

During his January press conference, Schumer said that border security would not be used as “an excuse or block to a path to citizenship.” And Obama wants to designate Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano as the last word regarding whether the border is safe from further illegal immigration, a move akin to appointing the fox to guard the henhouse.

Many insiders view Rubio as key to the amnesty negations. Should he drop out of the GOE, as some think he might because of divergent philosophies regarding security, the already stalled momentum might slow even further. Another indication of discord: Rubio replaced Mike Lee, one of the original eight when the Utah senator determined that the immigration proposals under discussion were more radical than he had been led to believe.

When he returned home to Arizona, Senator John McCain got a rude awakening. Operating under the misconception that his scheduled town hall meeting would address the pending budget crisis, McCain was caught unaware when his beleaguered constituents wanted to talk only about his amnesty program. According to a local account, “hostile” questions dominated McCain’s 75-minute session.

Since he has already double-crossed them, Arizonans are correctly apprehensive about McCain’s immigration promises. During his 2008 presidential and 2010 senate campaigns, McCain promised border security. He pledged to “Complete the dang fence.” Today, he’s an amnesty cheerleader.

For some in the GOE, other distractions abound. Not only will sequestration and gun debates chew up valuable weeks, but two legislators have pressing personal and professional problems. Lindsey Graham, like Rubio, is a pivotal figure. Yet Graham is at odds with his constituents about immigration. Long a supporter of increased immigration—Graham endorsed the 2007 Kennedy-McCain amnesty—analysts view him as the probable target of a South Carolina primary challenge. Whether Graham continues to talk the amnesty talk as the primary season draws closer remains to be seen.

New Jersey’s Bob Menendez, newly named chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is under heavy siege with at least the possibility that he might be forced from office. Dogging Menendez are alleged fund raising improprieties and the growing suspicion that he engaged in sex with Dominican prostitutes while on an illegal donor-paid island vacation. The FBI has launched an investigation into Menendez’s scandals.

For amnesty to have a chance, two things have to happen—neither of them certainties. First, the Senate has to agree on the bill’s language. So far, that’s proven difficult. Second, the final Senate version has to pass by a significant margin, say 65-35. Unless the Senate can send the House a bill has overwhelming support, amnesty will be dead on arrival.

Joe Guzzardi is a Californians for Population Stabilization Senior Writing Fellow whose columns have been syndicated since 1986. Contact him at [email protected]