Is Immigration Losing Traction?
The Miami Herald thinks that the "Immigration issue fades." It seems the Sunshine State voters are more concerned about the economy. That might be a national trend as well, as Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), the one Republican candidate who offers a path to citizenship for undocumented residents, continues to show strength in the primaries.
Florida does have some special circumstances, however. For one, it’s one of the states hardest hit by the mortgage and housing construction crisis. For another, Cuban immigrants—who are influential in South Florida and, with more than 450,000 registered voters, make up about 60% of the Latino population there—are not affected by immigration limitations. They have the Cuban Adjustment Act, which since the 1960s has granted them, alone among all immigrant groups, legal residence as soon as they arrive, with no—or at least few—questions asked.
The Act underwent a policy reinterpretation under President Bill Clinton in 1994. The Soviet collapse in 1991 had meant an implosion of the Cuban economy and desperate times—1994 was the worst year—and Clinton needed to head off the growing number of arrivals at the time. Now it’s called the "dry foot, wet foot" policy, which means that emigrants intercepted by the Coast Guard at sea are returned to Cuba, but those who touch any part of terra firme get to stay.
In a new variant, more and more Cubans are now heading first for Mexico, then crossing the border into the U.S. That’s the "dusty foot" option. While Mexicans line up for suspicious inspections at the border, Cubans go right around them to the nearest immigration official for an official welcome.
On a related matter, here’s a note to Rep. Ron Paul, who has proposed doing away with "birthright citizenship." A whole lot of well-off Venezuelan women, somehow concerned that President Hugo Chavez may want to steal their children, are now flying to Miami to give birth there. If they can’t get rid of Chavez, they want to have children who are U.S. citizens by birth. In any case, it may help to keep options open for shopping opportunities.
