“Of all the arguments that are made in favor of comprehensive immigration reform along the lines of the Senate bill, perhaps the most disingenuous is the claim that it will boost the economy. Proponents of the bill always, as far as I have seen, limit themselves to the claim that admitting somewhere between 30 and 60 million new immigrants, over and above those authorized by existing law, will increase the GDP. Good Lord, I should hope so! That would be true unless every single one of them is unemployed. Increasing aggregate GDP is a ridiculously low bar. Congress has a fiduciary duty, not to citizens of Mexico, Colombia or France, but to citizens of the United States. The relevant question, with respect to the economic impact of the Gang of Eight\u2019s legislation, is what impact it will have on existing American citizens,” says John Hinderaker at Powerlineblog<\/a>.<\/p>\n As the immigration debate moves to the House, influential conservative groups are using their considerable clout to persuade Republican lawmakers to support reform. So far, House Republicans aren\u2019t biting. Pro-business and religious groups \u2014 constituencies that typically hold sway in the GOP-controlled House \u2014 are flooding the TV airwaves, purchasing full-page newspaper ads and sending letters to Capitol Hill in support of reform. And they plan to do even more. But many conservative lawmakers simply don\u2019t feel the urgency,” says Politico<\/a>.<\/p>\n “It seems fitting that Janet Napolitano chose to leave her post at a time when Congress is debating the issue that largely defined her tenure: immigration. The Department of Homeland Security has massive responsibilities, including counterterrorism, natural disasters and airport security; but Napolitano spent much of her four-plus years fielding attacks from both the right and the left over immigration \u2014 for either doing too little or too much to secure the nation’s border and deport undocumented immigrants,” USA Today writes<\/a>.<\/p>\n “The former Arizona governor had to answer critical questions after the Boston Marathon bombing in April about how one of the suspects \u2014 Tamerlan Tsarnaev \u2014 was able to re-enter the country after a trip to Russia despite the raising of some red flags. Perhaps her lowest point: saying “the system worked” after the nation narrowly avoided the bombing of an airplane over Detroit on Christmas Day 2009.” Big Dollar Amnesty Push Not Getting Far in House<\/h3>\n
Immigration Issue Defines Napolitano’s Legacy at DHS<\/h3>\n