The bombing of the Boston Marathon has affected the lives of Bostonians, but it may also affect immigration reform.
Last week was supposed to be the week of immigration reform, not “the week from hell,” as CNN’s Todd Leopold deemed it. A bipartisan group of senators known as the “Gang of Eight” introduced the Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013 on April 17.
If history is an indicator, we are unlikely to pass immigration reform soon after an act of terror has taken place in our country.
In early September 2001, President George W. Bush and Mexican President Vicente Fox were planning an immigration reform that would have included a path to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants and would match Mexican workers with willing American employers. Of course, this occurred before Sept. 11, and no such immigration reform passed thereafter.
It makes sense that in a time of mourning, issues like immigration reform might be placed on the backburner to focus on the tragedy. However, it seems that we aren’t just avoiding immigration reform to deal with issues such as terrorism. Instead, we’re making immigration reform seem like a terrorism issue.
We perpetuate anti-immigration sentiments through rhetoric that labels immigrants as “unworthy.” In 2006, Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) created a model of a wall that he would like to see built between the United States and Mexico. He suggested that the top of the wall contain an electrified wire “with the kind of current that would not kill somebody, but it would be a discouragement for them to be fooling around with it.”
It’s a good idea because, as King said, “We do that with livestock all the time.” King, ever the one for analogies, also said immigrants were like stray cats that ended up on people’s porches. Oh so eloquent.
Unfortunately, this mindset is not rare and has pushed immigration reform “so far onto the backburner that it eventually fell clear off the stove,” in the words of CNN contributor Ruben Navarrette.
Thankfully, immigration reform has earned a spot in the news again. In a committee hearing on the 844-page immigration reform bill, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said, “Let no one be so cruel as to use these heinous acts of two young men last week to derail the dreams and futures of millions of hardworking people.”
Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) responded, “When you proposed gun legislation, we did not accuse you of using the Newtown killings as an excuse.”
However, the gun legislation made sense because the problem in Newtown was that Adam Lanza got a gun. Contrarily, immigration reform would not have stopped the Boston bombings. The problem in Boston was not that the Tsarnaev brothers immigrated to the U.S. — they could have committed the same crime if they were here illegally or here on vacation. Therefore, immigration reform should not come to a halt because of the Boston bombings.
Some Republicans are using the Boston bombing to avoid passing immigration reform, claiming this will prevent more immigrants from attacking us, as the Tsarnaev brothers allegedly did. However, as Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said in a joint statement, “Immigration reform will strengthen our nation’s security by helping us identify exactly who has entered our country and who has left.”
The bill presented by the Gang of Eight is not perfect, but it is important that we continue to discuss immigration reform rather than accept the current system as satisfactory.
