This morning, an immigration reform framework was announced by 8 senators. There are two big reasons why we shouldn’t be excited by it.

First, it is primarily a huge giveaway to corporate power. It specifically calls for making it easier for high tech and farm workers to be giving a quick route into the country. I’m not against this necessarily. But the biggest problem we have in this country is in the healthcare field where groups like the AMA and ADA manage to erect huge barriers to foreign doctors and dentists practicing in this country. This is all about priorities and for the ruling class, getting tomatoes picked for a cent and a half a pound is far more important than providing all Americans affordable healthcare.

Second, this is a framework, not even a bill. Plus, it is coming out of the Senate and not the House. Anything that is good in the bill (and there is much) is likely to be stripped out or at least watered down. So stay tuned.

Part of me thinks that this is all one big PR push for Marco Rubio’s 2016 presidential run. As such, it doesn’t matter if the framework goes anywhere; it just matters that Rubio does something that looks like he gives a shit about anyone but our corporate overlords. I find it interesting that Rubio was the one to push the most conservative aspect of this plan: that the 11 million undocumented residents must get at the back of the line in applying for citizenship. This could put off citizenship for these people for decades. As they say, the demon is in the details, but this could make the whole reform practically nonexistent.

So let’s just wait. Let’s see how this moves forward. It will be a good test of whether the Republican Party is prepared to make even the smallest steps toward reform.

Afterword

The framework specifically mentions children. Ezra Klein reports:

These are pretty words, but they don’t make much sense. The whole reason that conservatives are against “amnesty” is that sets a bad precedent. It gives people an incentive to come to the United States illegally. The children may not have come here knowingly, but their parents did. Giving children special treatment gives parents everywhere an incentive to bring their kids here illegally.

Having said that, I’m all for making it easier for children to immigrate here. But I’m also for amnesty. I really think there is more than enough room here in the United States for everyone who wants to come. That isn’t true of most conservatives or even liberals.