STOP HARASSING UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS

There were at least three stories in today's The New York Times, not counting the NYT editorial, on immigration policy.

Julia Preston reports on the fearful state of many people in Waukegan who are either undocumented immigrants themselves or citizen relatives of such immigrants. It is not a happy picture. What must it be to live in a constant state of fear? Fear that you will be stopped for a traffic violation and then turned over to the immigration authorities at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Fear that the ICE police will raid your work place and discover you are "illegal." Fear if you are an eight-year-old that your father or mother will not come home after work because they have been placed "in deportation proceedings." Put all this fear in context by contrasting it with the harsh and uncaring attitude of some of those children of immigrants who came to the U.S. long ago who now want to see all Mexicans and Latinos evicted and deported.

Preston quotes the mayor of Waukegan on his mean and intolerant views toward immigrants:

"“Do I believe in closing the borders?” Mr. Hyde said. “Do I believe in putting troops down there? You bet your life. Illegal is illegal, and that’s the end of the conversation, really.”"

Then there is the report by Diane Cardwell on another mayor's more realistic approach, Michael Bloomberg of New York City. Bloomberg considers immigrants part of the success of New York City.

“Take a look behind me,” Mr. Bloomberg said, referring to the collection of largely immigrant families he had invited to sit onstage. “This is what makes America great,” he added, holding his arms aloft, his voice rising. “This is New York City. This is freedom. This is compassion and democracy and opportunity.”

"Indeed, Mr. Bloomberg practically began his address by jabbing a sly elbow toward some of the presidential candidates, criticizing those who had suddenly “embraced xenophobia.”

“Keeping New York City and America at the front of the pack begins with an openness to new energy, meaning immigration, and new ideas, meaning innovation,” he said. “That’s how I built my business, and that’s the approach we’ve brought to a city government that was insular and provincial, and married to the conventional.”

Then the NYT opined in its lead editorial that Democratic candidates need to come out with proposals on immigration reform that are realistic and humane towards the 12 million or so of immigrants lacking documents.

"Except for Mr. McCain, the Republican candidates have skirted the issue or, worse, embraced the restrictionist approach known as “attrition.” That amounts to relentlessly tightening the screws in workplaces and homes until illegal immigrants magically, voluntarily disappear.

"Making it work would require far more government intrusion into daily lives, with exponential increases in workplace raids and deportations. It would mean constant ID checks for everyone — citizens, too — with immigration police at the federal, state and local levels. It would mean enlisting bureaucrats and snoops to keep an eye on landlords, renters, laborers, loiterers and everyone who uses government services or gets sick.

"Worst of all, it’s weak on law and order. It is a free pass to the violent criminals we urgently need to hunt down and deport. Attrition means waiting until we stumble across bad people hiding in the vast illegal immigrant haystack. Comprehensive reform, by bringing the undocumented out of the shadows, shrinks the haystack.

"Fred Thompson has been perhaps the most vocal defender of attrition. But on Wednesday, the newly restrictionist Mike Huckabee one-upped him by signing the “No Amnesty” pledge of the nativist group NumbersUSA, formally committing to the principle that all 12 million illegal immigrants must be expelled. Americans, naturally, have no earthly idea how he would accomplish that."

The NYT editorial goes on to criticize Democrats too, in their case for approaching immigration reform from too timorous a position. The Democrats all show "eggshell timidity" on immigration:
"Now, attrition is threatening to become a bipartisan disaster. The SAVE Act, an enforcement-only bill, was introduced last year by a Democrat, Representative Heath Shuler of North Carolina, and the notoriously restrictionist Republicans Brian Bilbray and Tom Tancredo. It is gaining sponsors.

"The Republican stance on immigration leaves an opening that opponents could drive a truck through. The Democratic candidates have the better position but approach the subject with eggshell timidity. They should stand up for a real debate, and a better country, by forcefully challenging the Republicans on this issue."