Driving back from the Rio Grande valley the other day, we got an earful of vituperation on the radio about the immigration bill. Mostly but not exclusively from the right.
That anger was in contrast to the pragmatism and realism -- skepticism, no less -- we encountered in a meeting in Laredo about proposed immigration controls along the border.
So we're not surprised to read that the latest New York Times/CBS poll on the immigration bill shows most Americans in favor. It seems there may be an increasing divide in America. No longer between right and left, the divide appears to deepened between on-air paid shouters and the rest of us.
The New York Times/CBS poll shows a mild, sensible reaction to the bill on the part of a majority among Democrats, Republicans and Independents:
Two-thirds of those polled said illegal immigrants who had a good employment history and no criminal record should gain legal status as the bill proposes, which is by paying at least $5,000 in fines and fees and receiving a renewable four-year visa.
Many Republican lawmakers have rejected this plan, calling it amnesty that rewards immigrants who broke the law when they entered the United States. But the poll showed that differences are not great between Republicans and Democrats on this issue, with 66 percent of Republicans in the poll favoring the legalization proposal, as well as 72 percent of Democrats and 65 percent of independents...
...In the poll, 75 percent of those who responded favored tougher penalties for employers of illegal workers, and 82 percent said the federal government should do more to reinforce the border. But only 15 percent favored fences as the main method to reduce illegal border crossings.
The fence is the main reason we were in a meeting in Laredo earlier in the week. That fence is about as popular as the Berlin Wall among all sectors of the community.
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