Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Immigration Infighting   [Kate O'Beirne]

Mickey Kaus wonders why Mitt Romney is going after Rudy over New York's "sanctuary city" policy he presided over when the former mayor currently supports "comprehensive" immigration reform, including amnesty for illegal aliens. They would qualify for citizenship under Giuliani's plan, which also includes beefed-up border security and IDs for foreign visitors. He distinguishes his position from the Bush-Kennedy plan that he opposed based on some enforcement measures he backs rather than on the issue of amnesty.

I wondered the same thing as I worked on a piece over the last few days for the print magazine on the candidates' immigration positions and the current feud over who was more lax in the past. But I went further on the issue of sanctuary cities by arguing against the attempt to force scofflaw jurisdictions to abandon their policy, even though it understandably frustrates those who object to such a flouting of the law. It will be difficult enough to get reluctant local officials and overwhelmed federal officials to detain and deport illegal aliens who commit felonies. Giuliani recalls that NYC reported thousands of criminal aliens to federal officials who deported only a fraction of them. Giuliani continues to defend New York's refusal to inquire about legal status when people seek city services, and I think he is persuasive when he argues that making every contact with city officials — including the police and hospitals — reportable was unwise and unworkable in his city. More in the next issue of National Review . . .

08/21 02:50 PMShare