Kris Kobach, anti-immigrant restrictionist lawyer and Kansas Secretary of State, claims to know something about immigration law, but in our Friday night CNN debate he was able to do little more than throw around phrases like “backdoor amnesty” and “illegal aliens”.  The subtext of these words is sinister–that America is under a Latino invasion which threatens our culture, language, and way of life.    Fixing America’s badly broken immigration system is not part of Kobach’s plan.  What he and his ilk want is to put an end to immigration, period.  And since they have no helpful plan for America, restrictionists like Kobach rely on ethnically charged words and phrases—like the ones used by Kobach on CNN.

Not surprisingly Kobach failed to articulate even a single immigration policy solution.  He started off by making the patently false claim that the proposed processing tweak announced by the Administration on Friday is “phase two” of an “amnesty”.  That couldn’t be farther from the truth.  In fact the proposed change will make it possible for the spouses and children of U.S. citizens to apply for a family unity waiver while in the U.S.   It’s a technical adjustment that will keep American families safe and together during administrative processing.

And contrary to what Kobach said, not one letter of the law was changed.  The immigrants it would affect get nothing to which they were not already entitled.  To obtain the family unity waiver, applicants must still meet the strict letter of the law which requires they prove that family separation will cause their American citizen husband or wife extreme hardship.  Currently, these immigrants must spend months, even years, abroad waiting for the bureaucracy to process their waivers.  The proposed change will permit the waiver request to be decided stateside.  It will alleviate bureaucratic delay and reduce processing backlogs at U.S. embassies abroad.  It’s good government pure and simple.

At some level Kobach must have understood he couldn’t seriously argue with a processing fix that promotes legal immigration, keeps American families together, and protects the integrity of our borders.  Realizing he had nothing of substance to add to the debate, Kobach concluded with the phrase “we can all agree”, words used by those who know they not only have lost the argument but are on the wrong side of the issue with the listening audience.  It’s a time tested debate trick designed to fool the viewers into thinking he and I were not that different.

Fortunately we are.

I advocate for an immigration policy that protects American families, keeps the U.S. globally competitive, and restores civil liberties.  Kobach wants to spread the same climate of fear he helped create in states like Arizona and Alabama which have enacted hate filled anti-immigrant laws he helped write.

Today the Administration will announce a proposed rule change that will save countless American families from the trauma of separation and, at the same time, make America safer. The proposed rule change is outlined in this morning’s New York Times.

Under the twisted immigration law the husband or wife of a US citizen is barred from applying for a green card in the US if they originally entered without proper inspection by an immigration officer. To obtain lawful status the immigrant must leave the US and apply for a visa at a US embassy in their home country. But once they leave the US they are barred from returning for up to 10 years unless they can prove their US citizen or legal resident spouse will suffer extreme hardship in their absence. But the process–known as an “unlawful presence waiver”–can take months, even years. In the meantime the family is separated, the foreign spouse may be stuck in a dangerous place–like Ciudad Juarez, Mexico where many immigrants have lost their lives–and there is no way of predicting if or when the family will ever be reunited.

The proposed rule change is huge because it will allow undocumented spouses and children of U.S. citizens to apply for a provisional waiver while in the U.S.–something not permitted under the current rule. If the waiver is granted, the foreign national will then leave the U.S., apply for his or her immigrant visa abroad, and return to his or her loved ones. The change will give countless American families a chance to stay together safely and legally.

The move is also smart enforcement because it will reduce the illegal immigrant population and allow the Department of Homeland Security to better focus its resources on keeping America secure and safe.

When it comes to immigration, 2011 will be remembered as the year Alabama enacted HB56, the most mean spirited state immigration law in U.S. history. It targets Latinos and other people of color and effectively mandates racial profiling by state law enforcement agents. Since it went into effect last Fall, Alabamans have been victimized by due process violations, acute shortages of essential workers, and the creation of a climate of fear which has led many Latinos—legal and illegal—to flee the state. The media has been full of graphic images of produce rotting in unattended Alabama fields and idle machinery abandoned amid the flight of terrified workers. Alabama officials have been repeatedly embarrassed by the shocking arrests of foreign auto executives detained by local law enforcement for failure to produce immigration papers. As 2011 draws to a close, Alabama politicians, including Governor Robert Bentley, who signed HB56 into law, are seriously considering dropping its most draconian sections.

If Alabama’s HB56 dominated the immigration developments in 2011, Arizona’s SB1070 will be sure to dominate in 2012. The U.S. Supreme Court will hear the Obama Administration’s constitutional challenge to Arizona’s immigration law, enacted in 2010 but temporarily blocked by the courts. The effect of the Supreme Court’s ruling on immigration policy—and beyond—should not be underestimated. Should the Court strike down SB1070 it will reaffirm, in a loud and clear voice, that immigration policy is exclusively a federal matter, inextricably tied to the idea of the United States as a sovereign nation. However, should the Court uphold SB1070 other states will certainly follow Arizona’s and Alabama’s lead, resulting in a disparate patchwork of state immigration laws throughout America. The challenge then may no longer be limited to the federal government’s plenary power to regulate immigration, but to the very idea of the United States as an indivisible nation. Stay tuned.

2011 will also be remembered as the year of immigration enforcement. Nearly half a million people were deported from the U.S., undercutting those that claim the Administration has not enforced the law. To the contrary, President Obama—for better or worse—has deported more illegal aliens than any president before him, including his predecessor, George W. Bush. But amid all the removals in 2011, Obama tried a new, potentially very effective tool—common sense immigration enforcement. In a policy announced in June, the Administration directed ICE to focus its energy on the deportation of violent criminals, drug dealers, and terrorists. And while Obama cannot grant citizenship to any undocumented immigrant, he can certainly direct immigration agents to use their common sense in enforcing the law.

As 2011 draws to a close the big question remains: When, if ever, will Congress overhaul America’s broken immigration system; or even pass the DREAM Act, which would help promising undocumented youth earn their way to lawful status. But 2012 is an election year, and the reality is that the politicians in Washington will not touch an issue as explosive as immigration reform.

In the meantime, Americans can only hope that whomever they send to Washington in November will roll up their sleeves and get to work on an immigration policy that creates American jobs, protects American families, restores due process, and ensures America’s competitiveness in a global economy.

It’s a little unnerving when the Grinch tweets you just before Christmas.

It started Wednesday when I read a shocking article in the New York Times about an undocumented immigrant who suffers from a life threatening kidney disease and requires dialysis.  Because of a bizarre legal anomaly the government will cover the cost of his dialysis—$75,000 a year—but not the cost of a kidney transplant—$100,000—which would make the dialysis unnecessary and save hundreds of thousands of dollars over time.

The article quoted Rep. Dana T. Rohrabacher, Republican of California, who opposes giving any medical aide to undocumented immigrants.  While I believe his position is extreme, indeed self-defeating, Rohrabacher is obviously entitled to his view. But what was appalling was the mean spiritedness with which he expressed it. “If they’re dead” Rohrabacher said, “I don’t have an objection to their organs being used.”  He added, “If they’re alive, they shouldn’t be here no matter what.”

Was the Congressman really saying that the only worthwhile illegal immigrant is a dead one?   I certainly hope not, but given the ugly language of the anti-immigrant restrictionists including, sadly, some members of Congress, it wouldn’t surprise me.

I tried to put the whole thing out of my mind.  But later that evening, while catching up on my Twitter feed, the following tweet about Rohrabacher’s callous comment popped up from America’s Voice.

 Award 4 the most heartless statement in the face of human suffering 2 @DanaRohrabacher http://bit.ly/vi4FjV

I realized I wasn’t alone.  Others were shocked by the cold-bloodedness of Rohrabacher’s remark.  But it was late at night, so I just retweeted the AV’s tweet and went to bed.  I slept well, figuring the issue of Rohrabacher’s insensitivity in the face of human affliction had been settled on the social network.

I was wrong.

When I awoke the next morning I discovered that just after midnight Rohrabacher had sent me the following tweet:

 glad benevolent people like U willing to reduce health&ed benefits to your own families for illegals rather than tax us

Then, about an hour later, he tweeted again,

U mean our own people suffering because not enough to care for them…or illegals on whom u’d spend our limited $?

His tweets included a nice picture of Rohrabacher leaning against a railing in front of a bay. “Well”, I thought, “at least he’s more discrete than Anthony Weiner.”  In any event, I immediately tweeted Rohrabacher back, hoping to favorably inform his views on immigration and impress upon him that he should become an advocate for comprehensive reform.  But it’s tough to do that in 140 characters or less.  So I tweeted:

I mean #immigration reform will create jobs and increase wages for #Americans, Y dont you understand that?

To which the Congressman tweeted back:

R U kidding? Permitting illegals to stay& work draws tens of millions more, bidding down wages, draining health&ed funds

At this point I figured Rohrabacher needed some facts and figures; something other than the half-baked restrictionist talking points he has apparently been reading.  My return tweet referred him to a joint report published in early 2010 by the Immigration Policy Center and the Center for American Progress entitled Raising the Floor for American Workers which makes it crystal clear that immigration reform, including a pathway to lawful compliance for the millions of undocumented foreign nationals, will boost the economy to the benefit of all Americans:

W all due respect Congressman, ur wrong; CIR will add 1.7t to GDP, in tax rev; and 1m jobs; read IPC report

But Rohrabacher would have none of it—apparently not wanting the facts to get in the way of his views.  He tweeted:

thanks 4 the respect, but if U believe that legalizing those here and drawing tens of millions more is good for US Ur dreaming

Dreaming?  I guess I am.  As are a lot of other people—including thousands of undocumented immigrant youth who long to give back to the only country they know and have struggled against all odds to enrich.  So I tweeted,

Mabye I’m dreaming–like many others–but the current situation is a nightmare; America needs solutions not empty talk.

But the Congressman, determined to have the last tweet, responded,

if Ur so-called solution is legalizing the status of illegals give me empty talk, Ur solution will bring more & make it worse

I’m not sure what to make of my ongoing twitter conversation with Congressman Rohrabacher.  Sure, it’s tempting write him off as a heartless old Grinch.  But I’m not going to do that.  After all, this is the holiday season, a time of reflection, renewal, and goodwill towards others. I want to believe that if Rohrabacher allows himself to see the injustice and pain caused by America’s broken immigration system then his heart, like the mean old Grinch’s, just might grow three full sizes. Maybe then he won’t long to steal Christmas from the most vulnerable among us.

In the meantime I’m going to go check my Twitter feed.  Who knows? Maybe Ebenezer Scrooge is following me.

It’s fortuitous that the Republicans scheduled a debate for tonight. In light of the findings released today by the U.S. Department of Justice, they’ll all have an opportunity to weigh in on whether Arizona’s Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is a tough law-and-order sheriff whose famous crusade against undocumented immigrants is a noble public service or whether he is, as the Justice Department has just found, likely nothing more than a racist thug who has engaged in an illegal “pattern and practice of unconstitutional conduct and/or violations of federal law” in a rabid effort to terrorize the county’s Latino citizens. It’ll be especially interesting to hear what Rick Perry has to say. Just a few weeks ago he went to Maricopa County to pay homage to Sheriff Joe in a desperate attempt to shore up his bona fides with the fringe right.

The investigative findings of the Department of Justice are shocking. The Department conducted a comprehensive investigation into Sheriff Joe’s Maricopa County department and found a litany of serious abuses, including:

Discriminatory policing practices including unlawful stops, detentions and arrests of Latinos;

• Unlawful retaliation against individuals exercising their First Amendment right to criticize MCSO’s policies or practices, including but not limited to practices relating to its discriminatory treatment of Latinos; and
• Discriminatory jail practices against Latino inmates with limited English proficiency by punishing them and denying them critical services.
• Long-standing and entrenched systemic deficiencies that caused or contributed to these patterns of unlawful conduct, including:

A failure to implement policies guiding deputies on lawful policing practices;

• Allowing specialized units to engage in unconstitutional practices;
•  Inadequate training;
• Inadequate supervision;
• An ineffective disciplinary, oversight and accountability system; and
• A lack of sufficient external oversight and accountability.

The Department’s investigation uncovered additional areas of serious concern, including:

• Use of excessive force;
• Police practices that have the effect of significantly compromising MCSO’s ability to adequately protect Latino residents; and
• Failure to adequately investigate allegations of sexual assaults.

To Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano’s credit, she immediately severed the Department’s 287(g) agreement with Maricopa County and is directing the Sheriff’s office to reassess its Secure Communities program. This action may come a little late for the scores of immigrants whose rights were abused by Sheriff Joe. But better late than never.

In light of the Justice Department’s report, Sheriff Joe Arpaio ought to immediately resign or be placed on administrative leave without pay pending resolution of the charges. The Department of Homeland Security should also review its 287(g) agreements with local law enforcement agencies across the country to be sure no other rogue law enforcement officials are using them to engage in the wholesale destruction of civil liberties.

Just this week the Supreme Court agreed to review the constitutionality of Arizona’s SB1070, a state law which criminalizes Arizona’s undocumented immigrants and subjects them to racial profiling. At bottom, SB1070 is nothing more than an ethnically charged hate law concocted by anti-immigrant restrictionsts to create a climate of fear.

Let’s hope the Supreme Court sees SB1070 for what it is. After all, can you imagine SB1070  in the hands of Sheriff Joe Arpaio?

I’d like to think that Newt Gingrich, the current GOP front runner, has come out squarely in favor of a pathway to citizenship for the millions of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. Not because I support his presidential candidacy, but because rejection of mass deportation as a solution to America’s broken immigration system raises the level of the national debate about immigration. At least he’s not ginning up the same old sound bites about securing the border and building fences.

But, the devil is in the details. Unfortunately, Gingrich’s proposal falls far short of what is needed to fix the broken immigration system. In fact, his idea would lead to the mass deportation of millions of people and the demise of scores of American families.

The cornerstone of Gingrich’s plan is the so-called “citizen review panels” which would consider whether an undocumented immigrant’s personal circumstances merit a reprieve from deportation. Gingrich likens the idea to the draft review boards of the World War II era.

But listening carefully to Gingrich it becomes clear that under his plan very few undocumented immigrants would even qualify to go before the review panels. Only those that have been in the U.S. for more than 25 years would be considered, even if they have compelling equities such as U.S. citizen relatives, a record of paying taxes, good moral character, and a consistent work history.

A recent report by the Pew Hispanic Center shows that of the approximately 12 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S., only 35% have been in the U.S. 15 years or more—even less have been in the country for more than 25 years. That’s more than 7.8 million people who, according to Gingrich, would be targeted for what he calls “dramatically easier” deportation. It’s not clear what Gingrich means by that ominous phrase, but I imagine it doesn’t include much due process and fairness.

Yet Gingrich’s proposal shines when compared to Mitt Romney’s. Romney suggests that undocumented immigrants, all 12 million of them, should turn themselves in, be given a transition period to get their affairs in order, and self-deport. It’s obvious that Romney hasn’t a clue when it comes to fixing the broken immigration system. Romney bases his proposal on the idea that the undocumented—many of whom have close family ties to America—can simply go home, get in line, and return legally. He obviously doesn’t understand—or worse, doesn’t care—that the broken immigration law includes a myriad of daunting legal obstacles which prevent undocumented immigrants from returning to America and their families for at least a decade or more. His proposal is as ridiculous as it is unworkable.

On the other hand, Romney and Gingrich both argue forcefully for an immigration policy that will attract the best and brightest to America—the innovators, entrepreneurs, and scientists. On this point—although neither would likely admit it—both GOP front runners agree with President Obama. Recalling a time when America opened its doors to highly skilled immigrants to shore up its competitive edge, President Obama has called for innovation, education, and rebuilding of America’s infrastructure. This  necessarily implies an immigration policy that keeps America open for business.

But what neither Gingrich nor Romney seems to get is that high skilled professionals and creative entrepreneurs won’t come to the U.S. if we do not fashion an immigration policy that restores and protects due process. Just ask the scores of business people and scientists who have been stymied by an overly restrictive immigration bureaucracy or targeted for special registration and prolonged security checks over the past decade. (Note: you may need to contact them via email or Skype because many have immigrated to other, more welcoming, countries).

The subtext of the current immigration debate is that undocumented immigrants won’t do what they should to gain lawful immigration status. This assumes that compliance with the immigration law is as easy as filling out a passport application at a local  post office. What none of the candidates seem to understand is that under the current law there is simply no way for most unauthorized immigrants to comply, as much as they might want to, whether they remain the U.S. or go back to their native countries.

Nevertheless, Gingrich’s proposal, as deeply flawed as it is, recognizes that wholesale removal of 12 million is not a solution.  And, if nothing else, that position is a welcome addition to a Republican immigration debate that has thus far been limited to little more than sound bites about border security, boots on the ground, and fences.

Remember Pete Wilson? JD Hayworth? Tom Tancredo?

That’s what I thought.

These guys are a few of the politicians whose anti-immigrant agenda played a big part in the demise of their political fortunes.  And the list continues to grow.  Just ask former Arizona State Senator Russell Pearce, author of Arizona’s SB1070, the “show me your papers” law, who was thrown out of office last month by his own constituents.

So it comes as no big surprise that some of the most conservative voters in the country—Iowa caucus-goers—are, according to a report in NPR, “open to policies that help foreign-born young people educated in the U.S. to enter the workforce, as well as those that help companies hire seasonal and permanent employees for vacant jobs Americans are not filling.”  They also strongly support increasing opportunities for highly-skilled legal immigrants and entrepreneurs to come to the United States.

When you look at these numbers you begin to understand why GOP presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich declared his support for a more humane immigration policy—one which includes a pathway to lawful compliance for the millions of undocumented foreign nationals in the US.

Unlike Mitt Romney, his chief rival for the nomination who continues to pander to the restrictionist fringe, Gingrich’s remarks on immigration have been deftly aimed at the centerist—dare I say more reasonable—Republican voters.  Gingrich understands that America’s economic and social future depends on an immigration policy which attracts the best and brightest to America’s shores and which includes a common sense, humane approach to bringing the scores of undocumented workers out of the shadows and into the sunshine of American life.  In a GOP primary that has offered little more than inane blabber about “amnesty”, “fences”, and “boots on the ground”, Gingrich offers a refreshing perspective.   Though his proposal is still very flawed, he is challenging his party and Republican voters to consider solutions to the nation’s immigration problems rather than pat sound bites.

How then does this explain the Rick Perry’s fall in the polls? Didn’t his moderate approach to immigration, including his support for instate tuition for undocumented immigrants, severely damage his presidential campaign?

No, not so much.

The collapse of Perry’s candidacy has more to do with his debate gaffes and other missteps, not his stance on immigration. Simply put, Perry lost his front runner status because he was not ready for prime time, not because of any one particular issue.

The Iowa poll shows that Americans—liberal, moderate, and conservative—overwhelmingly support a common sense approach to immigration.  This is consistent scores of other studies conducted by pollsters over the years.  American voters long for a modernized immigration system that will create jobs for American workers, protect American families, and restore American due process and fairness.

Politicians who choose to ignore this do so at their own peril.

It happened again yesterday.

A foreign worker—this time from Honda—was arrested in Alabama and cited under the state’s new immigration law.

Sound familiar? It should.

The same thing happened a couple of weeks ago to Detlev Hager, a German executive from Mercedes-Benz, who was in Alabama to check on the company’s plant in Vance. This time the unlucky scofflaw was a Japanese employee of Honda. Like the unlucky German before him, he was arrested by Alabama cops after he forgot his visa in his hotel room.

In a blog posted last week I made the point that the hate ridden immigration law does little more than crush civil rights, wreak havoc on the state’s economy, and sully Alabama’s reputation. I also pointed out that a foreign company (or any company for that matter) would have to be nuts to locate in a state like Alabama that enacts a law which so flippantly subjects foreign managers and workers to arrest.

They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Exactly what result do Alabama politicians expect by continuing to enforce HB56?

You can’t make this stuff up.

A foreign executive from Mercedes-Benz gets arrested in Alabama and charged criminally under the state’s new immigration law. Was he alien smuggling? Drug trafficking? Committing a violent crime?

Nope. He left his visa in his hotel room.

Under Alabama’s new immigration law that’s a crime. The 46-year-old German manager—or, as they call him in Alabama, the suspected criminal—was quickly thrown into jail by local police when he couldn’t produce his immigration papers after he was stopped on his way to the Mercedes-Benz plant in Vance, Alabama. Imagine the scene at the Mercedes-Benz headquarters in Germany as the top brass scurried about trying to find someone to post bail for the luckless manager who suddenly found himself sitting in some rural Alabama lock-up.

Much has been written about the horror of Alabama’s hate-infested immigration law and how it has wreaked havoc upon the state. There was the heart wrenching report of the 4^th grade Latina girl who was asked by her teacher to produce her immigration papers, the photos of ripe produce left to rot in worker-less Alabama fields, and the media reports of the difficult and dirty jobs left open by the flight of undocumented workers.

And despite the unquestionable havoc the law has wreaked upon the good citizens of Alabama, the lobbyists and politicians who enacted it have had the audacity to suggest that the chilling due process violations, the acute shortages of essential workers, and the climate of fear it has created  throughout the state is merely a temporary bump on the road to an illegal alien free Alabama. But the fundamental economic assumption upon which they have pushed their mean spirited law—that U.S. workers will fill the void created by the fleeing immigrants—has proven false. In fact, as was reported recently in Bloomberg Businessweek, the exact opposite is true. In the wake of the mass exodus of undocumented immigrants from Alabama, many difficult, unpleasant jobs—the tough and dirty ones like picking vegetables, gutting fish, washing dishes, and cleaning beds—remain open in Alabama, unfilled by American workers.

In this economy—or in any economy for that matter—most states do whatever it takes to attract economic development. That’s why, back in 1993 when Mercedes-Benz announced it would open a plant to build sport utility vehicles in their state, Alabama officials rejoiced. Since then other foreign automakers have followed suit including Honda, Toyota, and Hyundai, fueling Alabama’s economic growth.

But would Mercedes-Benz or any other foreign company make that same decision today? What were the Alabama politicians thinking when they enacted this law? Did they really think they would secure Alabama’s economic future by passing a spiteful immigration law which, among other things, so easily puts a foreign corporate manager at risk of arrest and prosecution during a business trip?

Alabama development officials beckon employers to the state with an online brochure promising a “favorable business climate”, “effective workforce training”, “attractive tax incentives”, and “excellent logistics”.

What about “reasonable bail”?

Certain politicians owe soon-to-be former Arizona State Senator Russell Pearce a big “Thank You.” He just single handedly proved that the politics of hate, in particular the politics of hating Latino immigrants, is a sure ticket to the dustbin of history. A year out from the 2012 elections there still may be time to re-tool their extremist anti-immigrant politics and start thinking about what Americans really want—solutions, not hate filled anti-immigrant rhetoric.

Pearce, working closely with Washington, DC-based restrictionist lobbyists, including current Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, was the chief author of Arizona’s infamous SB1070, more commonly known as the “Show Me Your Papers” law. The most draconian parts of the law, including the provision which would have created a police state by forcing local law enforcement to target people who look “illegal,” were immediately thrown out by a federal judge and are now winding their way up to the Supreme Court.

A year ago Pearce was on top of the anti-immigrant restrictionist world. His political ally, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer who signed SB1070 into law, was returned to the state house by a wide margin and copy cat anti-immigrant legislation was metastasizing all over the country in states like Utah, Georgia, and Alabama. Pearce’s restrictionists allies—some of whom are members of designated hate groups—ran around the country pushing more state sponsored anti-immigrant legislation in a cynical effort to take advantage of the void in policy created by Washington’s failure to hammer out a national immigration policy which serves the needs American families and businesses. The most horrific example is Alabama’s HB56, a law similar to the one Pearce wrote in Arizona, which took effect in September. It has created a repressive climate of fear which has emptied Alabama schools of Latino children and its farms of essential workers.

Luckily for America the voters of Pearce’s state senate district are smarter than Pearce and his restrictionist friends. They know when they’ve been had by a self serving politician foolish enough to do the bidding of hate mongering Washington lobbyists. Unlike Pearce, who was blinded by an extremist agenda, the voters have a clear vision of what they want their state government to do—improve Arizona’s economy, create jobs, and restore the state’s image which was left in tatters by Pearce’s law.

It’s significant that in replacing Russell Pearce with Republican Jerry Lewis the voters did not switch political parties. What they did was make it crystal clear that it was Russell Pearce and his anti-immigrant agenda that had to go.

And politicians who fail to heed this lesson —be they Republican, Democrat, or Independent—do so at their political peril. The Republican presidential primary has thus far been devoid of meaningful discussion of immigration policy. In debate after debate the candidates have done little more than offer the voters inane blabber about “boots on the ground,” electric fences, “illegal alien” invasions, and the evils of instate tuition for undocumented students. Candidates like Governor Rick Perry have been vilified for daring to suggest immigration be handled with compassion.

Yet, the polls show that American voters want something more.  They long for a fair, safe, and orderly immigration policy which will get the nation out of the economic doldrums, create American jobs, and keep America competitive into the 21^st century. Americans overwhelmingly long for solutions, not hate laws.