Lost in the health care reform excitement was a big rally in favor of immigration reform.
And it’s long past time America did something about immigration, such as:
1) Increasing quotas. We should be taking in substantially more high-skilled immigrants.
2) Establishing a path to legal immigration that doesn’t take decades. 5 years should be the outside waiting limit if you’re eligible and you apply for permanent residence, whether as an individual, a spouse, or an immediate family member.
3) Substantially increasing the foreign aid budget, particularly in Mexico and Central America, and eliminating agricultural subsidies. Too much money is being wasted on the war on drugs, when what’s necessary is a war on poverty. We’ve got to help these countries develop economically, to make staying home more attractive.
Alas, it’s unlikely that reform legislation will be passed this year. There’s only so much courage to go around in DC in an election year, and it won’t be spent on helping immigrants at a time of 10% unemployment.
Gorilla says: “In 2011, the time will be right!”
