In the ongoing debate in this country over immigration and immigration policy, I believe a fundamental truth is being ignored. It is not even being discussed.
I believe this truth lies at the heart of why our policy makers have been unable to enact fair, just and comprehensive immigration reform. I believe it also why we are unlikely to see the kind of extreme border control/security measures and severe limits on immigration that the anti-immigrant folks say that they want.
The truth is -- our immigration system creates an enduring underclass to which we are addicted.
What we really want from any changes in immigration policy and enforcement is to REGULATE and CONTROL that underclass, not to deport it and certainly not to empower it. This is all we have done with any changes to immigration policy for the past several decades.
I should note that by "we" I do not mean specifically me or any fellow Daily Kos participants and I do not even mean the Tancredos of the world who only play a role in the collective "we".
By "we" a mean the societal structures, systems and institutions that lead to how we deal with immigrants and why we rely on this permanent underclass.
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