The Conservatives for Comprehensive Immigration Reform coalition is cautiously awaiting the introduction of this year’s Republican Party platform. We are keenly interested to see where, exactly, the Party will ultimately stand on the issue of immigration reform. It is our fervent hope that in this year’s platform, the Party will be willing to stand with their “better angels.” By that, we mean that we hope that the Party embraces the call for adhering to the Rule of Law, but also calls for adhering to a call for a more compassionate conservatism. Unfortunately, it seems that there is a very good chance that the party will will embrace the former, while neglecting the latter.
Conservatives are conflicted between these positions, and some see a conflict between these seemingly separate philosophies. This conflict is reflected in the policy proposals that the Platform Committee will be presenting at this year’s convention, which lean heavily toward the Restrictionist wing of the party. Personally, we do not see such a disparity between these positions. We believe that the tenets of the Rule of Law and Compassionate Conservatism are both grounded in our Judeo-Christian roots. So is the concept of American Exceptionalism. President Ronald Reagan firmly believed in American Exceptionalism. He saw the United States as the “shining city on a hill.” President Reagan saw no disparity between his belief in a Rule of Law America, and a compassionate America. It was President Ronald Reagan who believed in and passed the last true attempt at a solution to our immigration dilemma.
In the 1986 signing statement for his immigration bill, President Reagan declared that “We have consistently supported a legalization program which is both generous to the alien and fair to the countless thousands of people throughout the world who seek legally to come to America. The legalization provisions in this act will go far to improve the lives of a class of individuals who now must hide in the shadows, without access to many of the benefits of a free and open society.”
By Samuel Rodriguez and Robert Gittelson
Robert Gittelson is President and Co-founder of Conservatives for Comprehensive Immigration Reform.
Rev. Samuel Rodriguez is president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, Hispanic Evangelical Association.
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Two not so “opposing” articles worth reading:
Comprehensive Immigration Reform Is Dead–and the left is to blame
On immigration, follow MLK’s guidance. It’s about human dignity
