Senate Begins Immigration Hearings

The immigration subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee opened hearings yesterday on reform with general agreement across party lines that something has to be done. But the conversation is just beginning and still rather general. The details to come later will be more problematic and contensious. Yet there were some new ideas. Doris Meissner, commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization Services under Clinton, suggested establishing a "commission" to advise the president and/or Congress on immigration policy in changing circumstances. Yet others had grave warnings if immigration policy is loosened. The Department of Homeland Security does not have the resources or track record of administering well an expansion of visas. If one considers the debacle of its Citizenship and Immigration Services last summer, there may be some truth to the warning. (See Arizona Republic article.)