Selective perception and immigration reform

Many believe our borders are under siege everyday by millions of illegals, and that the Obama Administration is doing absolutely nothing about it.  An almost equal number think Obama is more compassionate to illegals – and Hispanics by default – because he avidly supports a “path to citizenship” for the 11-12 million already here.  Plus, he’s initiated some Executive Orders that are also helpful to children whose parents came here illegally. 

Okay, so here’s the reality.  Under Obama illegal crossings are down and the rate of forced deportations is up.  Now some say the bad U.S. economy is the real reason crossings are down, which is probably true.  But Obama’s no slacker when it comes to deportations, especially for those who commit criminal acts.  He’s also pumped up security on the southern border.  Under Obama there also have probably been more ICE raids on those who employ illegals, resulting in even more deportations.  

Yet because almost none of this gets much coverage, the far right thinks he’s soft on illegal immigration while Hispanics think he’s their guy.   The truth is, he’s neither.   He’s pretty much like his predecessor; if anything, he might be a little tougher on people trying to cross our borders illegally now.    

Sorry, but it’s true.  You even have to give the devil his due when it’s earned. 

So let’s talk immigration reform, almost a perfect storm of selective perception where everybody hears what they want to hear and politicians and the media withhold or bury the real facts.   

It’s all about promoting everyone’s respective narratives. 

The media works hard to make the public believe that millions of illegal immigrants are waiting breathlessly for a path to citizenship.  With isolated sob stories they paint a picture of families torn apart when one parent is deported.  Of the fear immigrants have of being caught and sent back.  Of the dangers immigrants face trying to get into this country. 

The implication through these carefully selected snippets is that, despite being a nation of immigrants ourselves, we are now a mean, cruel and heartless country toward people simply coming here for a better life, much as our forebears did.    

The prevailing storyline is that the Senate’s just passed immigration bill is a major advance in comprehensive immigration reform.  Not only will it save our souls and restore our heritage, but it will bring hope and dignity to these “undocumented” workers.  They’ll be able to emerge from the shadows and share in the American dream at last.    

The media has positively gushed about the “heroic” efforts of the bipartisan group of Senators to create a “path to citizenship” and that – finally – many Republican Senators have joined their more enlightened Democrat colleagues and voted for the Senate bill.  

Details about the bill are noticeably absent in most reports.  On purpose, I believe.  Instead, the summaries make it seem like we’ll be strengthening our borders while law-abiding illegal immigrants already here will see the prospect of legal citizenship within their reach. 

Well there are a few things left out of that.  First, “law-abiding illegal” is an oxymoron.      

That aside, if you drilled down on the Senate’s bill, you’d realize that no current illegal immigrant who has successfully escaped deportation so far is ever, ever, going to go through all the bill’s hurdles to become a citizen.  Not voluntarily. 

And despite what critics claim, and some Hispanics apparently believe, there’s no “amnesty” for those here illegally.  Far from it. 

There are penalties, fines, back taxes, background checks, a requirement that they learn English, and about 13 years between application and getting their citizenship papers.  Plus, they are excluded from some Federal benefits during that time; some of which they’re getting now, and many won’t get healthcare coverage under ObamaCare.    

Why would they go through all that?  For what?  So they can vote?  Not being a citizen isn’t getting in the way of that now.  So what do they really gain that they don’t have now?  The only thing I can think of is the right to be called for jury duty.   Oh boy.

This is really much ado about nothing.  Except perception.  

Republicans didn’t get a lot of Hispanic votes the last election.  They think it’s because of their intransigent positions on immigration.  That hurt them but wasn’t the sole reason.  There were lots of other reasons for Hispanics as well as non-Hispanics to prefer Obama over Romney the last time around.  To Hispanics, Romney came across as a rich white guy whose only experience with them was as gardeners or maids.  

Then extreme right-wing Republicans across the country also said a lot of dumb things that were given inordinate attention by the media. 

Most of all, however, Romney lost because a large number of white traditionally Republican voters just sat out the last election, for one reason or another.  For many of them, Romney probably didn’t have enough pizazz to lead them out of a burning building. They didn’t vote at all. 

That’s something Republican leaders don’t seem to grasp.  Or prefer not to deal with.  Instead, Republicans leaders are now obsessed with the Hispanic vote – even though Hispanics make up only about 10% of voters.  Talk about misinterpreting small bits of data. 

So Republicans who supported the immigration reform bill in the Senate and those planning to support the bill in the House are playing defense.  They hope Hispanic voters might remember them as friends – or at least not as enemies – when election time rolls around.  They hope to make inroads into the Hispanic vote simply by supporting this bill. 

That’s not going to happen. 

You see, for every Marco Rubio in the Republican Party, there’s a Ted Cruz fire-breathing about the perils of “amnesty” and turning off even more Hispanics as well as non-Hispanic moderate voters. 

Also, even if every Republican stood up in support of this bill – and I’m not saying they should – they still wouldn’t get any credit for it.  The media has already decided that; they would paint the Republicans as only doing this for shamelessly political reasons – to try to mend fences with Hispanic voters.

Which, quite frankly, is why they would be supporting such a garbage bill.    

However, speaking of shamelessly political reasons, that’s why Democrats are pushing this bill so hard.  They know it will likely fail in the Republican House or at least stir up a firestorm there.  Then they can use it in the upcoming mid-term elections to bash Republicans.  Like moths to a flame, a lot of Republicans won’t be able to resist the bait and the media will be there to turn whatever they say into immigrant-bashing sound bites.

So even if does by some miracle or chicanery pass in the House, it’s a lose/lose scenario for the Republicans. There’s no political upside for them. 

And no one – I repeat no one – in the media, except perhaps the Wall Street Journal, is going to detail how meaningless this bill is in reality.  Plus, how much pure crapola has been packed into it.  It’s about as porky and special-interest-laden as anyone can imagine. 

The real winners in this bill?  Not illegal immigrants, although they are the poster children. 

Rich foreigners who promise to start businesses here will essentially be able to buy American citizenship.  Companies who now employ illegals to boost profits can now lock in those low-wage workers by pushing them into the reform provisions.  Companies that use the H1B immigration provisions to recruit lower-cost foreign professionals will be able to expand the numbers they bring in, putting more pressure on the wages paid to U.S. citizens. 

And there’s much, much more. 

Haven’t read much about those things, have you?  Surprised?  You shouldn’t be.  It’s like ObamaCare all over again.  The back-room deals, the carve outs, the special-interest giveaways – they’re all present in the Senate’s immigration reform bill.  But because they don’t fit the narrative the media and Democrats are presenting – or the manufactured outrage the extreme right is fomenting – you won’t see much about them.   You’ll have to search pretty hard.     

You should try to read the bill for yourself.  If you can find it.  I’ve tried and can’t find a durable link to it to pass on to you anywhere.   The closest I can get is here:

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c113:S.744:

If you succeed in your quest you’ll find it’s only about 1200 pages long.  Have fun.  Realize that while you’re not willing to read all 1200 pages and thread through all the arcane cross references to other legislation and regulations, neither are your Senators or Representatives.  The people pushing this bill  are counting on that. 

I guess Congress will just have to pass it to see what’s in it.  Where have we heard that before? 

Is it real immigration reform?  Kind of.  Is it worthy of all the hyperbolic rhetoric?  Not really.  

I suppose it's all in the eye of the beholder.  That's what selective perception is all about. 

For me, it's just politics as usual.