Next up is Immigration

Immigration reform is at the head of the line. In the past week President Obama spoke with five Republican Senators (Brown, Murkowski, Lugar, Le Mieux and Gregg) about immigration reform and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told Charles Schumer and Lindsey Graham to finish up within three weeks or he will bring a one party immigration reform bill to the floor. Three weeks is May 12th.
An immigration march will happen in Yakima on May 1st. Any Central Washington Democrat who is not clear on this issue should find some time very soon to rethink their position. Would a community forum help?
The City Council of Yakima is “researching” the implementation of the E-verify system for city employees. The city personnel office has been using an error-free system for years. As the saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. E-verify will very likely be in the reform bill that is brought to the Senate floor. Of course, once that happens, the political advantage to Ettl et al will fade considerably. How can he score points with the Right by trumpeting a key component of a Democratic reform proposal?
The question of who came here legally or illegally is a red herring when the law itself is about to be changed. The right question is, “What should be the legal status of immigrants under a law being written today?” Another good question is, “How can we assure healthy communities and proud, protected workers to drive our economy?”
Our regional economy is based on energy, technology and agriculture; these are growing and thriving sectors that badly need immigration reform. When the lowest-paid workers get a raise everyone up the line gets a boost as well. The economics of the labor market assures that. The anti-union, low-wage faith of the BIAW and its local instruments is simply ignorant of where their true interest lies. But, voters and those who work for a living shouldn’t be. Real estate development is a derivative industry and in this instance it is standing in the way of progress.