Immigration

What if we can’t all get along? What if it really is a cruel world?

Those questions become more relevant as we evaluate the latest terror news: On Tuesday, Michael Chertoff, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said he had a "gut feeling" that an attack might be coming. And the same day, ABC News’ Brian Ross reported that the White House had been convening emergency meetings.

Now of course, some will dismiss all this as "wag the dog"-type fear-mongering. But… more

The recent terrorist incidents in the United Kingdom need to be considered alongside the controversies in the United States over homeland security and immigration.

To put it bluntly, two great countries are under threat. Some people want to do something about the threat, others want to do nothing.

Let’s start with the attempted car-bombings across the Atlantic. All the suspects in the case appear to be Muslim; at least one is named "Mohammed." As the "7/7" bombings -- which killed 52 innocent… more

I was going to write about the grisly death of the Senate immigration bill, but there was other news that was just as senseless and inane: Paris mania.

If there’s one thing more annoying than our all-pervasive cult of celebrity, it’s the righteous handwringing over what it means for the soul -- let alone the brain -- of our nation. In the last few weeks, a bevy of commentators, television journalists and intellectuals have launched a mini-revolt against the tyranny of… more

Remember, back in the ‘90s, when then-first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton was peddling the "politics of meaning"? Well, government-provided therapy is back in the White House once again, this time brought to you by President George W. Bush.

But there is a difference. When Clinton, guided by Rabbi Michael Lerner, spoke of "the politics of meaning," she was hooted off the national stage. But when Bush offers his vision of soulcraft, a majority of the Senate seems eager to go along… more

It’s too bad Congress is still stuck on the issue of immigration because, here in Los Angeles, we’re getting ready to move on to bigger and perhaps better things: the rise of the post-immigrant population.

Back in February, a USC study reported that Los Angeles County had seen a 30% drop in new immigrant arrivals in the 1990s. In March, the Urban Institute released a report showing that even as the nation at large experienced an increase in its undocumented population… more

Today, it looks like the immigration issue is ripping apart the Republican Party. But tomorrow -- 2008 -- could be a different story.

Specifically, it’s George W. Bush who is ripping up Republican unity. Reflecting his own rich kid Texas roots -- doesn’t everyone own a ranch, requiring lots of nonwhite people to do the work? -- Bush is determined to bring the benefits of the Tara Plantation lifestyle to more of his fellow millionaires. But what about the middle class,… more

The “merit-based” immigration system enshrined in the all-but-dead Senate "grand bargain" was one of the reform bill’s more controversial elements. Those who railed against it might think it’s a victory that it was shelved along with the bill. They would be wrong, because merit-based immigration is probably a prerequisite to the next immigration bill and the one after that. It’s part of what conservatives will demand in order to grant some form of amnesty.

Of course, that doesn’t make it right.… more

Hidden away, secreted in the dusty stacks of the Machiavellian Library, is the definitive how-to guide, Winning Through Ethnic Manipulation. Observing the immigration and affirmative-action policies favored by the current administration, it’s one book that I am sure George W. Bush -- or at least Karl Rove -- has read.

Start with the chapter entitled “Divide and Conquer,” which instructs power-practitioners to dream up racial hierarchies aimed at keeping potentially powerful groups divided -- too busy fighting over crumbs on the… more

With the new immigration package already beginning to unravel, it would be wonderful if we could find one element of reform that everyone involved in the immigration debate can agree on.

Here’s my candidate: lower the residency requirement for legal immigrants who seek to become citizens from five years to two.

This is not a new idea. In fact, it’s 217 years old. In 1790, Congress passed the first naturalization act, which imposed a two-year residency requirement for legal immigrants. Alarmed… more

“Those who are looking to find fault with this bill will always be able to find something." That was George W. Bush at his press conference Thursday, defending his proposed immigration legislation. He didn’t quite say to critics, "Bring ‘em on" -- but was close enough to get this critic going.

Of course, the president immediately went on to laud the "comprehensive" virtues of his bill, urging its congressional enactment. But if we examine the legislation, we will indeed see plenty… more