Toward a Color Blind Society

Notable conservative and author Linda Chavez, who served under the Reagan administration as Director of the Civil Rights Commission, via NRO, RCP with some frank speech on immigration. One excerpt:

Second, opposing the Senate bill, which is now in limbo — or indeed opposing higher levels of immigration — does not equate with being a racist, a nativist, or a xenophobe as many have interpreted my remarks to imply. I, too, have some problems with the legislation — which I’ve voiced publicly and privately to the White House. Granted, most of my problems have to do with the fact that I don’t want to see us go the way of Europe by inviting “guest workers” who will never become Americans; I would rather increase the number of permanent residents we admit and then aggressively work to assimilate them. Promoting assimilation has been the foundation of my entire public career, going back some 30 years now, even before I became a Republican or started to think of myself as a conservative.

And one can certainly be concerned about illegal immigration — as I am — without being a racist, nativist, or xenophobe. It is worth noting, however, that illegal immigration peaked in 2000 and is down now by about one third. The greatest increase in illegal immigration was from 1995 to 2000, when only two percent of Americans listed immigration as important in the Harris poll each year, which asked: “What do you think are the two most important issues for the government to address?” Something happened since then to cause immigration to become the single biggest domestic issue out there. Some have suggested it was 9/11 that brought the turnaround. Terrorism may explain anxiety about border security — I certainly share the fear that porous borders make it easy for terrorists and drug dealers, as well as gardeners and construction workers, to sneak in. But fear of terrorism doesn’t entirely explain why illegal immigration has become such a hot-button issue, even in the face of declining numbers of illegal aliens entering the country. (Many of us on the side of comprehensive reform argue that the best and most effective way to reduce illegal immigration is to allow workers to come legally, temporarily, or as permanent residents, so that we might focus our limited resources on intercepting jihadists and criminals.) If the actual numbers aren’t driving the issue, what is? I believe that the constant drumbeat on immigration — driven by talk radio, cable news, the Internet, and direct mail — has played a major role in raising anxiety on the issue. And some of the rhetoric has been irresponsible, to say the least.

Well, this is an important point. I am primarily concerned about border security, and our continued ability to absorb an influx of immigrants. As I recall, in some areas of California they are constantly having to build schools. And I am not happy about the illegal trafficking that is driving a lot of identity theft, nor do I think having sanctuary cities where everyday laws are selectively enforced is healthy for society. Overall I think we need immigration, we need the human creativity and human capital so that our economy continues to grow and we remain a balanced society age-wise. And our unemployment rate remains at historic lows, though people are more likely to have to change jobs during their working life, which can raise the level of anxiety.

It is better to have a bill than not. We need to keep working on this.

More thoughts from Daniel Henninger and Fred Barnes.

UPDATE: Carol Platt LieBau on why the bill failed.