In this day and age of extreme polarization in our political system, it's the rare issue in American politics where nearly everyone agrees on something. Given the highly flammable nature of the immigration debate, it's actually remarkable the degree to which there is actually consensus as to most of the major issues, at least if a recent CNN Poll is accurate.
To start, border control advocates will be heartened to learn that fully 88% of those polled support "Putting more Border Control and federal law enforcement agents on the U.S. border with Mexico". But before you dismiss the American people as hopelessly racist and xenophobic, consider that nearly as many (80%) favor "creating a program that would allow illegal immigrants already living in the United States for a number of years to say here and apply to remain in this country permanently if they had a job and paid back taxes".
Seventy-six percent (76%) of those polled want to see a decrease in the number of illegal immigrants in the country, but 89% are either fine with or wanted an increase in the number of legal immigrants coming into the country.
Workplace enforcement measures also have broad support: Seventy-one percent (71%) want to see stiff fines imposed on employers who hire illegal immigrants, and 70 percent support the creation of a federal ID card that all citizens and legal immigrants would be required to show to an employer when applying for a job.
There are a few issues where the consensus starts to break down. Sending employers to jail for hiring illegal aliens does not have majority support (47%) while building a 700 mile long fence along the Mexican border does, but only slightly (54%-45%).
CNN also polled about the Arizona law and boycott: The law was supported by a 57%-37% margin, and 82% said that they would not be boycotting Arizona.
One of the more interesting questions in the poll was a new one that was somewhat gratuitous and leading, but might really get closer to the meat of all of the controversy:
What should be the main focus of the U.S. government in dealing with the issue of illegal immigration -- developing a plan that would allow illegal immigrants who have jobs to become legal U.S. residents, or developing a plan for stopping the flow of illegal immigrants into the U.S. and for deporting those already here?
Allow to become legal residents: 38%
Stop illegals/deport those here: 60%
So, to sum up, it seams that there is broad consensus amongst the American people that legal immigration is not a problem and could even be increased, illegal immigration is a problem and should be decreased, and that securing the border, enforcing workplace laws and providing a path to legalization are all good ways to address that problem. When pushed to state a priority, however, it seems that enforcing the law is a bigger priority to more people than providing a path to legalization.
So . . . the "path" to immigration reform, at least in so far as it will enjoy public support, seems pretty clear: secure the border, enforce workplace laws, provide a path to legalization for those who meet certain qualifications, and deport the rest.
The only problem seems to be the "chicken and egg" thing. The left won't support border security, workplace enforcement and deportations until there's a path to legalization in place, whereas the right won't support a path to legalization until there's border security, workplace enforcement and an effective system of finding and deporting illegal aliens who don't meet the qualifications.
So . . . the fight goes on . . . .