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President Obamas executive amnesty policies and failure to enforce immigration laws give conservatives an opening to unite on immigration in a way that appeals to all Americans. By holding to the principles of rule of law and fairness, immigration policy can be firm, fair and in the best interests of citizens and immigrants alike.

Comprehensive Immigration Reform Under Obama

President Obama failed to pursue any immigration reform while his party had a commanding majority in both houses of Congress. Following the 2012 election, many Republicans reached for the panic button and concluded that immigration reform (including amnesty) had to be done to increase support among Hispanic voters.

Liberals took notice when a Republican National Committee report called for comprehensive immigration reform. The president and his allies used it as a classic wedge issue to split conservatives. Pro-comprehensive immigration reform Senate Republicans teamed up with every Democrat to support S. 744, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act. The bill, which became known as the Gang of Eight bill, increased legal immigration limits threefold, created a guest-worker program and granted amnesty to some 11 million illegal immigrants. The measure passed the Senate with sixty-eight votes.

Rule-of-law conservatives opposed the measure. A majority of Republicans in the Senate had opposed the bill, and the Speaker of the House pledged that the bill would not come up for a vote unless a majority of Republicans supported it. It turns out that support for the measure was very shallow, even if it appeared widespread.

Almost immediately, conservatives aimed their attacks at President Obama and his unwillingness to enforce the law with respect to Obamacare, the WARN Act and immigration itself. Mistrust of the president was enough to deny the pro-comprehensive forces a majority within the Republican conference in the House. Facts on the Ground Change: Influx Dooms Amnesty

In spring 2014, a mass of adults and children, including many unaccompanied minors, flooded across the U.S. southern border. Rule-of-law conservatives won the public debate about the cause of this influx, tracing it in large part to lax enforcement of existing law and talk of amnesty by President Obama. Polling on immigration showed a major increase in intensity as the issue dominated the news for weeks. And those who cared shared the rights view.

The American people are increasingly wary of any amnesty policy. Candidates for office in the 2014 elections are using their opposition to the presidents policy in their campaigns. Those who ignored these trends did so at their own peril, and even prominent political leaders were not immune. Rep. Eric Cantor, then the House Majority Leader, found himself ousted in a June primary where immigration was a central issue. President Obama has postponed his executive action until after the 2014 elections. The tables have turned. Conservatives Should Stand Their Ground, United

This is not to say that policies exemplified by the Gang of Eight bill and the presidents unilateral executive amnesty are dead in the next Congress. House Republican leaderships statement of principles released in early 2014 shows they ultimately wanted amnesty with little guarantee of greater enforcement or border security. Supporters of amnesty know that there is very limited time after the election to pass any reform. That is because prospective conservative presidential candidates will take a hard line to build support among base voters.

A comprehensive bill that includes amnesty is precisely the wrong approach. Conservatives will reject it, meaning that it will have to draw liberal support to pass, thereby ensuring that the bill will be further left than it needs to be.

Excerpt from:
A Conservative Pathway for Immigration Reform

Neil Foley "Mexican Immigration and the Politics of Immigration Reform"

By: UMassHistory

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Neil Foley "Mexican Immigration and the Politics of Immigration Reform" - Video

BRIDGEPORT, Conn., Nov. 3 (UPI) -- President Barack Obama faced criticism in what was supposed to be friendly territory, as supporters of immigration reform repeatedly disrupted a campaign appearance in Connecticut Sunday.

While stumping for Gov. Daniel Malloy, pro-immigration reform activists referring to themselves as Dreamers heckled the president for not using executive action to bypass Congress and pass the senate's proposed legislation.

"The Republicans are blocking immigration reform," countered Obama.

"That's one more reason we need a Democratic Senate. So I support you. I'm with you. And you need to go protest the Republicans, because I'm not the one blocking it!"

The heckler was removed by security, but within moments of Obama declaring "Let's try again," another woman interrupted him to express her frustration with Washington's gridlock on the issue. Again, the president told her to heckle the Republicans.

"That's why we fought for immigration reform. It's the other party that's blocking. Unfortunately, folks get frustrated, and they yell at everybody."

Later in the speech, the president was interrupted for a third time after saying, "Republicans are patriots. They love their country."

"No, they don't!" a heckler shot back.

"Listen, just because folks are good folks doesn't mean they've got good ideas," offered Obama.

Related UPI Stories

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Obama heckled over immigration reform in Connecticut

By Nunu Japaridze, CNN

updated 5:16 PM EST, Sun November 2, 2014

Washington (CNN) -- Former GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney said Sunday comprehensive immigration reform will be the top priority if Republicans take control of the Senate.

"You are going to see a bill actually reach the desk of the president if we finally have someone besides Harry Reid sitting in the Senate," the former Massachusetts governor said on "Fox News Sunday."

His comment was challenged by the host, who reminded him that "after the Senate, on a bipartisan basis, passed comprehensive immigration reform, House Republicans blocked it".

Romney did not budge, explaining the rationale for blocking the bill.

"I think the Republicans in the House were looking at what was coming up from the Senate and saying: 'You know we can do better if we pick up some more seats in the Senate.'"

Republicans did not do well with winning Latino votes in 2012 elections and the GOP's 2012 self-assessment criticized the party's outreach to Latino voters.

"We must embrace and champion comprehensive immigration reform," it said. "If we do not, our party's appeal will continue to shrink," the RNC said after the 2012 election.

Romney said the GOP is better prepared to deal with immigration this time around. "You are going to see a provision first of all, to secure the border, second of all, to deal with those who have come here illegally and third to make sure that our immigration policies are more open and transparent to the many people who do want to come here legally," Romney said.

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Romney: GOP Senate would pass immigration reform

WASHINGTON: As Americans go to the polls on Tuesday (Nov 4) to choose their elected officials at the mid-term elections, reform of the broken immigration system remains an unfinished item on the agenda.

Two years ago, a bipartisan group of US Senators proposed legislation to address the estimated 11 million people living in the United States without proper documentation. It is an issue motivating a variety of American voters, starting with the Latino community. Latino voters have spoken out, demonstrated and even been arrested in their attempts to convince the US Congress that America's immigration laws must be reformed and updated.

"I'll be really looking carefully at who I'm gonna be passing my vote to because immigration reform is something that affects our Latino community directly and myself. And I'll be looking carefully for whom I'm gonna vote in terms of immigration reform, and which candidate is really going to compromise so they can finalise this process, said Rosalia Fajardo, a voter.

Brent Wilkes, from the League of United Latin American Citizens, said: "I think that Latinos see immigration as something that is very specific to their communities and that they take personally, and when people are insulting about immigrants or immigration like the way politicians often have in this country, they take it personally. And I think its a very important part of what's on their minds as Latinos go to the polls this November."

But immigration reform would not just impact America's large Latino community. Asia and especially India takes a special interest in the issue due to their ties to the booming Silicon Valley - and there are just not enough engineers to write computer and software code. "Companies are always complaining that they can't find enough qualified candidates to do the jobs that they need to get done here. So, the easiest way to do that is to look around the world - its a global workforce, said Professor Madhu Rao, Chair of the Department of Management in Seattle University.

The problem in America is that tech workers need a special visa - the H1B - to come to the US, and only about 65,000 are available each year. "But that's actually a very small number compared to what the industry needs, so right now that is a big constraint. So, we're pulling in maybe half of that from India, said Professor Rao.

One problem is that the H1-B visas are so valuable to tech workers outside the United States, some of the workers come to America only to be defrauded and treated poorly. Another problem is that for employers who want to do the right thing, the current immigration system is so complex that the H1-B visa process is not worth the trouble.

Matthew Allen from tech recruitment company Vertical Move, said: "We work with a lot of small companies that want to want to hire these people but cost is a significant issue for them, they just don't want to make the investments in dealing with immigration law. And many companies don't know how to get around and navigate in dealing with H1Bs or even green cards. So really, it just comes down to politics and the complexities of the immigration system."

For voters, immigration reform sometimes makes the top five of issues most important to them. But for campaigners, it is clear that the time has come because so many have a stake in the outcome.

Jorge Lima from The LIBRE Initiative, said: "We definitely are at a point where immigration reform cannot be ignored. I mean the community wants it, there's a huge broad coalition even outside of the Hispanic community, business owners, the religious community are all coming together, and even the tech industry is coming together and saying there is a need for this immigration reform. So I don't think its possible for the White House or the Congress to ignore it.

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US voters hope for immigration system reform