“No” Is Not Enough
President Obama plans an aggressive new push for immigration reform and the GOP needs a response that goes beyond a simple, reflexive “No!”
Most Republicans in the House don’t like the bi-partisan bill already passed by the Senate so they should pass better legislation of their own. Then conferees from Senate and House would get together to find common ground and, even if they failed, Republicans would have identified their own approach to necessary change.
The Gallup poll shows 71% who believe immigration reform is “extremely important” or “very important”; only 4% say it’s “not important at all.”
Nearly all Americans agree that our current system is badly broken and needs repair. If Republicans simply block efforts at reform then they become unwitting defenders of a dysfunctional status quo–a bad position in terms of both policy and politics.