Republicans in the Immigration Trap

Immigration is already a key issue of political debate in the United States, and the Republican Party, by not approving immigration reform, has fallen into a political trap that has jeopardized the entire traditional bipartisan system of the U.S.

The overwhelming victory of Democrat Bill de Blasio in the mayoral elections in New York, held Nov. 5, made the Republican Party’s loss of electoral support obvious.

Other elections held on the same day in Virginia, a traditionally Republican state, gave victory to the Democratic candidate Terry McAuliffe against Republican candidate Ken Cuccinelli.

The Battle for the Immigration Vote

Until recently, the situation regarding immigration in the United States was thought to be the opposite of that in Europe, where failure in multiculturalism is already a reality. Immigrants, especially Muslims, do not want to become European citizens, which is a serious problem for a continent comprised of nation states with their own histories and very different cultures.

The U.S. was considered a country of immigrants where everyone could live well. It turns out that this is no longer the case. In the recent gubernatorial and mayoral elections, the Republican Party suffered a heavy defeat due to President Barack Obama’s health reform. To undermine this reform, Republicans blocked budget negotiations and paralyzed the U.S. public administration, which threatened to trigger a global financial crisis. This frightened the voters and, as a result, they voted for the Democratic candidates.

Republicans in the Trap

The 11 million undocumented immigrants that live, work and enrich the United States are the ones fighting the main political battle. The immigration reform bill that opens up a real solution for converting these undocumented immigrants into American citizens was approved by the Senate, primarily made up of Democrats, last June. On the eve of local and municipal elections, Obama asked the Republicans who control the House of Representatives to approve the announced reform that would return the immigrants’ situation to normal “this year.”

The Republicans oppose this reform, of course. But the previous fight over the budget, which led to the federal administrative paralysis, weakened them. Finding out the election results from New York, Virginia and other places also demoralized them. Now it would be difficult to oppose the adoption of the bill on immigration by applying the traditional method of political blackmail.

But the Republicans will not get anything out of the fight if they give it up. If 11 million new voters appear in the U.S., which party will they vote for? Without a doubt, the Republicans would remain in the minority. This would put an end to the current bipartisan system that has almost equal support.

Hispanics Against Republicans

In 2010, the conservative Republican state of Arizona approved a harsh immigration law. But last year the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the majority of that law’s articles that were directed against immigrants, since none of the states can apply a policy that contradicts the country’s immigration model.

Subsequently, the liberal state of California enacted several initiatives that sought to protect undocumented immigrants. For example, employers are prohibited from retaliating against immigrants who protest unfair labor conditions. But these regulations go even further than the federal bill proposed by President Barack Obama and the Democrats. In general, employers are usually punished for hiring immigrants living in the U.S. without permission.

For the first time in U.S. history, the states are divided on the issue of immigration. Also for the first time the communities of immigrants who received U.S. citizenship are actively involved in the policy, defending their undocumented counterparts. This is the project of the Latino Victory Project — the “victory project” for all Americans citizens from Latin America. This project plans to spend about $20 million to fight against congressional Republicans who are trying to stop immigration reform.

This organization was formed from Barack Obama’s support committee in the presidential elections. Before, Latinos did not come together as a powerful joint force, but now this community could change the political situation in the country and increase their number with these new laws.

It seems that the idea of the U.S. being a country of immigrants is beginning to change. Until now, U.S. citizens of European origin, mostly Anglo-Saxons, were sure that they were the majority. Their view will change when European natives represent less than 50 percent of the U.S. population, due to mortality and birth rates and the growth in the number of immigrants.

The question is when this will happen and how it will change the political situation of the U.S., which may be left without a Republican Party.