This is a good illustration of how devoting attention to the most extreme ends of the respective parties produces an undemocratic result. In a piece at RealClearPolitics on immigration reform David Walker and Michael Meyers observe:
Nine out of 10 Democrats, 70% of independents and nearly two-thirds of Republicans express support for action on DACA. These findings back up and confirm other recent research work, including recent polling from the Pew Research Center, showing large majorities of American voters on both sides of the aisle support legalizing those who are part of DACA.
Voter support for common-sense immigration reforms is not limited to these so-called Dreamers. Nearly seven in 10 voters support providing an earned pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants with no criminal history since their arrival in the United States. A majority of Republicans, and 90% of Democrats, support this policy. Similarly, when asked about policy solutions on how to improve the immigration process, 80% want to see enhanced training and resources afforded to U.S. immigration officials so that they may spot signs of trafficking and exploitation.
If they’re so popular why not adopt these policies? They sound like quick wins.
I’m open to other explanations but my explanation boils down to political posturing. As long as the matter remains unresolved it provides both parties an issue to run on and moreover there is no real benefit to politicians of either party in adopting those policies because they will be opposed by the activists in each party, the most committed on the issue.
For Democrats that means those who favor unconditional amnesty and automatic citizenship for illegal immigrants who seek it, de facto open borders. For Republicans it means no immigration at all, usually couched as “they should take their place in line”. Even if those holding such positions only comprise a tiny sliver of each party, that’s enough to block even the most commonsensical of fractional reforms.
There is similar logic on practically every issue we face these days. And so we remain immobile, like a donkey between two haystacks.
