Immigration Bill Compromise is a Potential Political Sea Change

Immigration_Bill

Victor Landa, NewsTaco

It’s 844 pages long. It’s been a long time coming. And it’s a compromise.

So it’s a daunting read, a sigh of relief and…better than nothing.

I’m not a big fan of compromises, because both sides lose something in the process. I’m a fan of innovative thinking, where two opposing sides see a common goal and invent a new way to achieve it that wasn’t there before; that honors and understands both sides and helps each side grow.

The immigration bill presented in the U.S. Senate by the fabled “gang of eight” is not that.

Still, it’s the best we could hope for, given the present political circumstances. So in that sense one step, in compromise, is better than no step at all.  But because it’s a compromise there will be folks on both sides who will find things to hate about it. You can take that to the bank.

Make no mistake, this bill is not about immigrants, it’s about politics, and votes – it’s easier to understand what’s written in the 844 pages if we go into it from that point of view. Republicans see the demographic trend and want to soften their image among Latinos, and Democrats see a potential blue wave rising across the country. They both think that immigration reform is the key to their aspiration – straight to the heart of the Latino voter.

And if the issue were that simple congress would vote on it soon and we’d be done with it, and that would be that. If the problem were that easy to resolve, it would have been fixed long ago. It happened today because the political atmosphere was right – that’s just the way Washington politics works.

But this political compromise will have economic and cultural repercussions for generations to come. Latinos have known this all along.

So if the votes are ever cast and counted on this thing, if we’re able to get passed the argument that is sure to erupt in the next days, politics will be changed in a definite way.

In the mean time, we have a bill that’s 844 pages long. You can click HERE or on the image above to read it. Have at it.

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