Thanks, Mark, for the favor of a reply.

Re point 1: Your typology and mine are not as distinct as you suggest. I don’t think anything I said implies that reining in extended-family reunification and ending the visa lottery would be impossible.

Re point 2: “[H]ow much wrong do you have to do before it becomes a ‘grave wrong’?” I’d say malicious intent would qualify. Trying to feed your kids–even if by doing something wrong and doing something that, if many other people did it, would have negative consequences–not so much.

Re point 3: If spokesmen for the enforcement-first camp really are theoretically open to the possibility of some future amnesty, they haven’t done a great job of communicating it. In general, they have spoken as though they already have the vast majority of the public on their side and need not make even rhetorical concessions. I don’t believe the polls bear out this confidence.