Opposing views: Immigration's issues

Many outlets would have Americans believe that it is solely the fault of the Republicans for peddling an “obstructionist agenda” that interferes with important priorities like immigration reform. 

I am in full agreement that the current immigration system does not function very well and needs to be replaced, or at least overhauled.

I also believe that the United States was, is and will continue to be a nation of immigrants, and they should have the right to come into this country to pursue the American Dream.

Yet I cannot say that Republicans are the only reason why immigration reform is currently stuck in the House of Representatives. The truth of the matter is that Democrats have done just as much to poison political relations between the two parties, making such a feat extraordinarily difficult to accomplish.

As readers of these pages will know, the atmosphere in Washington, D.C., is to the point where both parties cannot be seen acquiescing to one another. It is in this stalemate that immigration reform was thrust upon Congress.

After seeing the poll numbers from the 2012 presidential election, some conservatives believed the best way to win back Hispanic voters was to tackle immigration head-on.
 
But after a year that saw scandal after scandal as well as a seemingly embattled president that has proved just as recalcitrant, I am quite surprised that the push back against reform has not been worse.

Many House Republicans will be facing reelection later this month, and the odds of being challenged from the right are real. Look at what happened to Senator Richard Lugar getting beaten out by Richard Mourdock in the Republican Primary for the 2012 Indiana Senate Race.

The Obama Administration has shown no qualms about using executive force to get around Congress. For example, the perceived activism of executive agencies such as the Justice Department hacking the Associated Press’ phones or the Internal Revenue Service applying severe pressure to conservative nonprofit groups has left many Republicans dismayed at and unwilling to compromise with President Obama.

Additionally, the use of executive fiat to delay implementation of many parts of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has left conservatives on edge, worried that the president will keep parts of bills he likes while delaying or sabotaging parts that he disdains, effectively creating a new piece of legislation much different than the one passed.

As if that was not enough, some may remember what happened in 1986.Then-President Ronald Reagan signed comprehensive immigration reform into law, but the result according to conservatives was amnesty to illegal immigrants and no lasting impact.

Republicans continue to have a not-too-far-fetched concern regarding the President seeking to have millions of voters eternally loyal to the Democratic Party. Republicans would never seek to pass a major reform that the president could take credit for, so there is no incentive for them to do so.

All of these factors led Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, not to bring up immigration reform until the end of the year.

And to perfectly frank, I cannot blame him for doing so.

­— mjsu@indiana.edu