Here is what the "Arizona Republic" thinks.
Border blessing
Bush has pushed immigrant reform into open air
Dec. 26, 2003 12:00 AM
Thank you, President Bush.
Only you could do this. Only the president of the United States could move immigration reform into the national spotlight where it belongs.
You recognize that the current policy is not just broken, it is a deadly farce unworthy of a great nation.
You can tell the nation what Arizona knows.
Arizona has watched the death toll mount each summer as enhanced enforcement in Texas and California squeezed migrants into our state. Arizona saw its southern deserts become graveyards as criminal smugglers, who grow rich on migrants' dreams, sought the cover of ever more remote and dangerous areas to cross.
According to figures compiled by The Arizona Republic, 205 migrants died on Arizona's southern deserts in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30. The official Border Patrol number was lower but still a record at 151. The previous year the Border Patrol found the bodies of 145 men, women and children who perished along Arizona's border.
They died because America's immigration policy does not recognize that willing workers will find their way to willing employers.
They died because America's immigration policy tacitly encourages risky illegal immigration by failing to effectively enforce laws against hiring undocumented immigrants.
They died because America's immigration policy does not recognize that business needs these workers.
For some, this is a parochial problem. A border issue.
It is not. It is a major national problem worthy of presidential attention.
Undocumented workers provide labor all over the country. They become part of an underground population estimated at 8 million people. They are vulnerable to crime and exploitation that taints many communities.
They, and those who continue to come through illegal channels, could also provide cover for terrorists who want to enter unseen and remain unnoticed. It would be much easier to identify potential terrorists and assure national security if those who wanted nothing more than a job were removed from the shadow of illegality.
On a purely philosophical level, the need for national attention is also clear. The United States' proud commitment to human rights and dignity is sullied by an immigration policy that results in death, fosters crime and creates a climate where people become commodities.
This is also an issue of international importance. The current policy corrodes our relationship with Mexico, an important trading partner and good neighbor.
Three Arizona lawmakers, Sen. John McCain and Reps. Jim Kolbe and Jeff Flake, saw these things. Earlier this year, they put together a plan to legalize otherwise law-abiding undocumented workers and provide a mechanism to channel future workers back to the Ports of Entry, where they can be counted and tracked.
Several months ago, Flake said movement on the bill was unlikely without presidential support.
Now there is support.
Now the work can begin in earnest to design immigration reform that is fair, decent and worthy of a great nation.
So thank you, President Bush.
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