Congress is currently working on a legislative solution to the immigrant children crisis on the southern border, which the Obama administration now admits they anticipated back in January yet failed to take any action to prevent it.
As the Huffington Post reports, a 2008 anti-trafficking law, which many say has exacerbated the crisis, is at the center of the debate:
The law requires unaccompanied minors from countries other than Canada and Mexico to go through a hearing process to determine if they are eligible to remain in the U.S. through asylum or other relief. But the 57,000 unaccompanied minors who have illegally crossed the U.S.-Mexico border since October have overwhelmed the system, making the 2008 law seem unsustainable to many.
Republicans say the 2008 law must be changed as a condition of approving any funding for the crisis. Most Democrats say it should be left as is.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.), for example, opposes a bipartisan bill that would reform the law, and make it easier for the U.S. to return non-Mexican immigrants to their countries of origin. He has dismissed the legislation, sponsored by Senator John Cornyn (R., Texas) and Representative Henry Cuellar (D., Texas), as another "crazy idea" from House Republicans. Reid has yet to produce legislation of his own to solve the problem.
Not surprisingly, Reid's position, and the position of his party, is at odds with the preferences of American voters, according to a recent CNN poll.
No big deal. That's only a margin of 26 points. Democrats are clearly on the wrong side of the issue.
Democrats should be even more concerned about changing public sentiment on the broader issue of immigration reform. A majority of Americans now believe that stopping the flow of illegal immigrants, and deporting those already here, should be the "main focus" of the government's immigration efforts, as opposed to offering legal status to undocumented immigrants. Recent polling shows a 19-point swing on this question since February.
Of course, this will not stop Reid and other Democrats from attacking heartless Republicans for being on the wrong side of history. But it might come back to haunt them in November.