Immigration as a Failed Wedge Issue: the Dog That Didn’t Bark

America's Voice Blog

Posted 08/28/09 at 03:25pm

On Tuesday, the Center for American Progress (CAP) hosted a panel entitled - "A Case Study in the Coming End of the Culture Wars: Immigration as a Failed Wedge Issue." While the event brought a unique style of summer heat to the immigration debate, the whole panel agreed on one thing: Immigration reform needs to happen before the 2010 midterm elections.

The panel consisted of Washington Post columnist, E.J. Dionne; Ruy Teixeira, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress; Republican analyst, Ana Navarro; and America’s Voice Executive Director, Frank Sharry.

Teixeira kicked off the back and forth by classifying immigration as a wedge issue in 2010 as “the dog that didn’t bark.”

But the 2010 and 2012 elections could see a resurgence of immigration as a wedge issue. And unlike the usual one-party's-loss-is-the -other-one''s-gain, not coming to terms on immigration reform could be destructive for everyone.

If the Republicans fuel the immigration debate instead of finding a solution, it will further alienate a massive immigrant constituency, which will additionally diminish the party’s already quickly dissipating power.

And if Democrats don’t deliver on comprehensive reform now, it will be incredibly hard to turn out the Latino vote for the Democratic Party in 2010 and 2012.

Sound complicated? Well, that’s not the half of it.

Yes, Democrats will surely take major hits if they don’t step up to the plate soon, but no matter what, the Republican Party will still be forced to deal with its own internal problem of not addressing the Latino and immigrant communities with real outreach and action.

Yes, Obama made great strides with this voting block by promising action within the first year, but those promises have been left unfulfilled and Republicans now have an opportunity to take the lead on the immigration issue.

So what now?

Neither party is positioning itself in line with the Latino and immigrant community but both are poised to take that spot if they so choose. It has now become a race to see which side can take action now and move legislation that is both effective and practical for Latinos and all of America.

Blog post by Nora Feely.