Democrats Are Pushing a Path to Citizenship, But is that Wise?

At a rally in San Diego, Bernie Sanders received his loudest applause when he talked about comprehensive immigration reform and a path to citizenship for illegal aliens, primarily from Mexico. And while Donald Trump talks about building a huge wall (having Mexico pay for it), and deporting all illegal aliens, both remaining Democratic candidates are talking about welcoming illegal aliens into our society.

Bernie made his feelings known in front of a crowd of 5,000 Saturday.

A crowd of about 5,000 Bernie Sanders supporters gathered Saturday night at the sprawling Kimball Park National City, a town of about 56,000 located between San Diego and Chula Vista, to hear – and cheer– the Democratic presidential candidate.

Sanders received the loudest cheers during his hour-long speech when talked pushing for “comprehensive immigration reform and a path toward citizenship.”. . .

“It’s cool that he’s trying to the reach out to the Latino community and to low income people,” said [attendee Arlene] Ruiz, who attends the University of California, Berkeley.

Ruiz, who attends San Diego State University, said Sanders is trying to involve people who otherwise are left behind when it comes to politics – those who didn’t go to college and don’t have a grasp of the system.

“The ones that are not involved in the process – they barely speak English,” Ruiz said.

At an earlier rally at Vado, New Mexico, Sanders focused on the same message, according to the local Fox station.

“I believe that this country must move to a comprehensive immigration reform and a path towards citizenship,” Sanders said.

“I feel like that’s good especially on the border because there are a lot of families that their parents are immigrants and their kids are not. Deporting them would be a bad thing,” Sanders supporter Hector Franco said. . .

One thing is for sure, the thousands who were there listening to his plans for the country took his message to heart.

“No, I did cry. I believe him. Since he walked with Martin Luther King he knew what was right and what was wrong, and I think ignorance is what’s getting people to not be on his side and we need to get on his side,” Sanders supporter Joanna Nevadez said.

However, as Breitbart notes, while Donald Trump and the Dem candidates are “worlds apart,” Bernie and Hillary are “indistinguishable” on the issue.

Clinton and Sanders largely agree on the broad strokes of comprehensive immigration reform. Both have said they will continue President Barack Obama’s executive actions, currently being challenged in the courts, to halt mass deportations. Both have pledged to enact legislation that would provide a pathway to citizenship for the vast majority of those living in the country illegally. . .

Clinton and Sanders have at times found themselves in vigorous agreement over the issue of immigration. The Democrats agree on the broad strokes of a comprehensive immigration reform package.

Both want to provide a path to legal status for those in the country illegally. Both want to provide some measure of comfort to those here illegally by easing restrictions on employment and greater support for them through federal social programs.

Both have said they would stop deporting undocumented immigrants who do not have a criminal record.

But Vanity Fair thinks the Immigration issue will help Trump, not the Democrats. The publication assumes Hillary will be the nominee, but we changed “Clinton” to “Democrat,” since Bernie and Hillary are so close on the issue.

Now that we head toward the general election, of course, the issue of immigration, which was gold for Trump in the primaries, is widely seen as his kryptonite. But it may be that the exact opposite is true. . .

Everyone knows that Trump has staked out extreme turf on border control, promising a wall and a deportation force. But [the Democrats have] gone far in the opposite direction. “I would not deport children,” [Clinton] said at a debate in March, after proposing the exact opposite in late 2014. “I do not want to deport family members, either.” In short, under Clinton’s policy, if you manage to sneak across the border illegally and make it into a city, you won’t be removed. You could call that open borders, except it’s messier. It’s more like a free-for-all. . .

Public Religion Research Institute offers polls showing that more than 60 percent of Americans favor a path to citizenship for immigrants who are here illegally, provided they meet certain undefined requirements. This suggests that amnesty, at least in theory, is acceptable to most Americans.

At the same time, support for border control is strong. A Washington Post/ABC News poll from April 2013 found that 67 percent of Americans supported spending more on border enforcement, and 83 percent supported laws requiring businesses to check on the immigration status of prospective employees, a measure that many Democrats have opposed. It also found that, while 62 percent of registered voters prefer to grant unauthorized immigrants a path to citizenship (provided they meet “other” unspecified requirements), 50 percent (versus 44 percent) would favor it “only after border control has been improved.”. . .

In sum, Trump’s approach is far tougher than voters seem to want, but [the Democrats’ are] far laxer. That means voters will have to jump to one extreme or the other. Because the working class feels the effects of uncontrolled immigration far more acutely than do wealthier Americans, Trump may well have an advantage. . .

[But] If the question about immigration policy becomes one of being pro-immigrant or anti-immigrant, then [the Democrat] will be helped in the general election.