Wait, Come Back, We Love Your Tacos and Piñatas!

Seeing the potential for a generational decline at the polls due to alienating the fastest-growing demographic in the country, the GOP candidates abruptly changed their tune and agreed to participate in a Spanish-language debate held by Univision in December. After spurning minority voter forums repeatedly, they suddenly came around. Simon Rosenberg thinks he knows why. Republicans in Virginia based their entire appeal on stopping illegal immigration and LOST, big-time, this week, relinquishing the State Senate to Democrats and giving up four seats in the House of Delegates. Suddenly, immigration issues don't look like electoral gold for Republicans anymore. They never should have, but now there's tangible evidence that it's a short-term loser, as well as a long-term bit of electoral poison.

The GOP's decision to go to Miami next month is a good one for the country. Let us hope it signals a new era for the Republican Party, one that ends both their demonization of immigrants and their strategy of blocking all common sense immigration reform legislation. In 2006 it was the House Republicans who blocked the big immigration reform package. In 2007 it was the Senate Republicans. Perhaps their admission of defeat will allow a new era where the two parties can come together and design a new 21st century immigration system that reflects the strong values of our great nation and meets the needs of the changing modern American economy.

I think there's still a major split within the Republican Party about how to proceed, or whether they've gone so far out-demagoguing one another that their base will not allow them to return to a position besides demonization. Whatever the case, the December debate should be interesting, for purposes of chronicling flip-floppery.

UPDATE: I guess I'm a racist, because I don't see much of a problem with this on the merits.

Two ardent proponents of border security are teaming up to introduce a bipartisan bill aimed at curtailing illegal immigration through employer sanctions.

Reps. Brian Bilbray (R-Calif.) and Heath Shuler (D-N.C.), who were both elected after strongly criticizing President Bush’s approach to immigration reform, are unveiling a bill Tuesday that has already attracted the support of dozens of members.

“It’s the one [immigration] bill that will pass this Congress,” said Bilbray in an interview. “We have to make this about illegal employment and crack down on employers.”

The Secure America with Verification and Enforcement (SAVE) Act focuses on three areas: employment enforcement, interior enforcement and increased border security.

I think the focus on border security (I think at least three border strengthening bills have already passed) is nonsense, but workplace enforcement is sensible and crucial to anyone who cares about American jobs. I agree that there are nativist concerns in this bill, and I would couple it with a massive entrepreneurial aid package for Mexico for them to build jobs at home. But overall, workplace enforcement is not an ignoble goal.