Ultimately more important than the ruckus over gays and atheists at CPAC is the event’s pro-amnesty agenda. The one panel on immigration seems to take support for amnesty for granted and asks merely “Can There Be Meaningful Immigration Reform without Citizenship?” — the main question being should the amnesty given to illegal aliens result in a green card (which would allow you to eventually apply for citizenship) or just a work visa, with no new avenues created to getting a green card. The panel has the usual stacked makeup:
Helen Aguirre Ferre, Host, Zona Politica, Univision America (Moderator)
Helen Krieble, Founder & President, The Vernon K. Kriebel Foundation
The Reverend Luis Cortés, Jr., President, Esperanza
Alfonso Aguilar, Executive Director, Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles
Derrick Morgan, Vice President of Domestic Policy, The Heritage Foundation
Only Morgan is an immigration hawk, so four against one. That’s a tiny bit better than last year when the designated immigration “hawk” was Congressman Raul Labrador, who was at that very time trying to negotiate an amnesty deal with Luis Gutierrez.
The issue of whether some future amnesty should provide green cards or merely work visas is an interesting one and something we should definitely discuss — after we get our enforcement system in order. In the meantime, how about a panel, both pro and con, examining the findings in Eagle Forum’s exhaustive report on how continued mass immigration (most of it legal) ensures that conservatism nationwide will enjoy the same success it now has in California.