Demagogue

Syndicated columnist Ruben Navarette writes that GOP congressmen seem to believe that "the immigration problem [can] be fixed with spit and glue." In this column, he writes:

... this month, House Republicans caught a glimpse of the calendar, discovered that the November election was around the corner and trembled at the thought that their own conservative voters might not look favorably on the people who represent them offering nothing on a hot issue except hot air.

So they hurriedly cobbled together a slate of 10 enforcement measures .... The first measure that the House approved was 700 miles of border fencing. It was for show. It showed America that folks in Washington don't really understand how the border works.

First, as any border patrol agent will tell you, there's no fence that can keep out someone who is desperate to feed his family and who's willing to go around, go over, or go under.

... The smart thing is to stop the magnet that draws illegal immigrants here: Jobs, jobs, jobs provided by U.S. employers. And yet, nowhere in the GOP's 10-point enforcement plan do you find any mention of employer sanctions.

I don't suppose that has anything to do with the fact that the Republican Party is the party of business, and, more and more in America, businesses depend on illegal immigrant labor.