Valin Posted May 6, 2013 Share Posted May 6, 2013 National Review: Five ways to fix the Gang of Eight’s legislation Yuval Levin 5/6/13 In an op-ed in the May 3 Wall Street Journal, Senator Marco Rubio explained that the Gang of Eight immigration bill will be amended as it goes through the Senate in the coming weeks, and that (perhaps unlike some others in the gang) he welcomes this process. He wrote: (Snip) In this spirit of constructive criticism, below are some suggestions for the sorts of amendments that might make the bill more palatable to some of its critics, without at the same time making it thoroughly unpalatable to its champions. It is worth noting that, compared with some other conservative critics (including some of NR’s editors), my starting point on this subject is significantly friendlier to the sort of approach Rubio seems to have in mind. This is in part because I probably have a different view of the law-and-order element of the question of illegal immigrants (a view more like the one Peter Skerry outlines here), and in part because I am probably more concerned than they tend to be about the degree to which our economy is held back by a shortage of high-skill (and especially the highest of high-skill) workers — a serious problem with no real precedent in the postwar era for America; and I therefore have a greater sense of urgency about legal-immigration reform. That is not to say, however, that this bill is how I would reform our immigration system. My ideal approach to reform, roughly outlined here last year, would look very different from the Gang of Eight bill and indeed would not be a single comprehensive bill at all. But I think there are ways to improve the Gang of Eight bill that would allow it to do more good than harm and be worthwhile. I would propose five kinds of amendments: (Snip) From the Comments section realist All the discussion regarding amnesty (the W visa and RBI status) is only encouraging more aliens to enter our country. A twenty-five year moratorium on immigration would allow all those currently here to assimilate. That usually takes at least one generation. Let everyone feel that the United States is their country- not a foreign country. Depressing comment of the day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valin Posted May 6, 2013 Author Share Posted May 6, 2013 Kristol on the Gang of Eight Rich Lowry May 6, 2013 Brother Kristol, like Yuval, is a notorious squish on immigration but has an interesting take prompted by Yuval’s thoughtful piece today: Yuval Levin has an excellent piece at NRO, “Reforming Immigration Reform,” on how the Gang of Eight’s immigration bill could be improved. Levin notes “that, compared with some other conservative critics (including some of NR’s editors), my starting point on this subject is significantly friendlier to the sort of approach Rubio seems to have in mind.” I share Levin’s general perspective on immigration, and his desire to see sensible reforms. But a majority of the Senate is unlikely to adopt his proposed amendments. So I wonder if, in practice, the comprehensive Gang of Eight bill is in fact reformable. And I wonder (and Levin agrees with this in principle) whether it wouldn’t be a lot easier to get a desirable outcome by having separate bills focusing on the different aspects of the immigration issue, rather than seeking to improve the Gang of Eight “comprehensive” legislation. (Snip) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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