By Tiara Etheridge

Opponents to the immigration compromise bill have reason to pull out the champagne and celebrate. Senate’s majority voted Thursday against limiting debate and speeding the passage of the bill, a major setback for a comprehensive immigration reform that would have legalized millions of immigrants who are in the country unlawfully.

The Eagle Forum arranged a telephone press conference for media this morning with a coalition of organization leaders, opposed to the Kennedy-Kyl amnesty, who touted the Senate’s decision as a result of “21st century grassroots activism” at its best.

“Last night was a beautiful example of democracy,” said Rosemary Jenks, director of government relations for NumbersUSA. “We broke through the elitist mentality [of the Senate] last night.”

Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, said the Senate thought they could fly under the radar with this issue like they normally do, but the people took notice and protested vehemently through modern grassroots activism, like the Internet and radio.

In response to recent surveys that opposition to amnesty for illegal immigrants is receding, Colin Hanna, Let Freedom Ring president, said the opponents passion for the topic outweighed supporters.

“It’s not just about counting the noses,” Hanna said. “Intensity is a factor.”

Hanna implies that passion should be indicative of law. I guess I’ve misunderstood all these years. See, I thought our forefathers separated church and state because law was supposed to be governed by reason, not sentimental stirrings of the heart.

If we followed the route of passion-induced government, slavery would still exist and women would never have received the right to vote.

The polarized issue of immigration

The problem with this bill, and this very issue, is the polarized stances of each side. You are either for it or against it; there is no middle ground. Why hasn’t someone stood for the portion of Americans that are divided, and rightly so? Our country has always encouraged immigration. Many of us feel for these human beings that are seeking the very right we are provided in the Declaration of Independence, the “pursuit of happiness.” But at the same time, we realize our laws should be upheld. In addition, many illegal immigrants are taken advantage of because of their financial desperation and possibly because of the language gap. U.S. employers often manipulate illegal immigrants into accepting low wages for long hours and hard work.

Corruption and Poverty

An April 2006 article in Investor's Business Daily blamed much of Mexico's nationwide poverty on a government-owned oil industry, which makes billions of dollars each year that is squandered through corruption and inefficiency. A lack of funding for school is another problem, with only 5 percent of Mexico's GDP directed toward education. As a result, people who would otherwise be scientists and doctors are resigned to lives of hardship in low-paying occupations, starving in their home country or picking strawberries for a living in the U.S.

What can we do to make the illegal immigrants’ home a haven in which they could feaseably live? In many of the countries where immigration has occurred, the immigrants returned to their home country once it became politically and financially stable. With this in mind and political agendas set aside, we should contemplate helping a neighbor. We could indirectly aid ourselves. By redirecting funds from incarceration and border control to assisting education and work programs in Mexico and making an effort to work with the Mexican government to eliminate corruption and help the country stabilize its economy and politics, the United States could benefit with a fewer laws broken, both by the immigrants and the employment sector.