The caucus, founded in 1999 and headed by Rep. Tom Tancredo from Colorado, not only reckons that there are far too many illegal immigrants in the country, but takes the view that even legal immigration has reached a state of “explosive growth.”
There may or may not be a hidden message in this choice of wording, but the Caucus makes it clear that it intends to promote legislation that will reduce the number of immigrants. That means immigrants no matter what their legal standing.
Speaking from a particular perspective, it is hard to detect explosive growth in the number of Irish legally settling in the United States in recent years. There are positive and negative reasons as to why the Irish don’t currently fit into the IRC’s “explosive” picture.
The negative reasons, however, are not keeping the Irish out. An unknown number live and work in the United States beyond the welcoming embrace of legality. It was on their behalf, as well as undocumented and illegals from many other countries, that the nationwide recreation of the ’60s Freedom Rides converged last Saturday on Flushing Meadows Park.
That the United States has the right to control its borders is beyond argument. That it will ever be able to fully do so is debatable.
Clearly, what is needed is an ordered and fair immigration policy devoid of the kind of ideological fault lines that have become so glaring in the last decade.
The concept of “earned adjustment” might sound like a bit of verbal trickery on a par with “explosive growth,” but one thing it is not, and that is the unconditional amnesty that so riles the anti-immigration lobby in Congress.
For reasons internal and external, legal immigration will never again match the kind of levels seen at various periods in the last couple of centuries.
But it need not, and should not, completely end. It should attempt to balance both historical ties and contemporary realities. It should, in short, be a workable compromise between those who want to completely shut the gates and those who want to leave them at least partly open.
Not an easy task. But one that should be completed sooner rather than later by means of balanced and pragmatic legislation in Washington.