You'd be forgiven a bit of uncertainty on the question of whether immigrants are a welcome addition or a bunch of filthy dirty parasites who should go back where they came from and leave America to the Americans. (Not the Native Americans. They don't count. Besides, they get to bankrupt us at casinos). Going by the yelling between House and Senate this week, you are not alone in your ambivalence, though the bulk of the fighting was (as seems increasingly common) between Republicans, where the giants of WeAreToughOnNationalSecurity and WeLikeLowPaidWorkersJustFine grappled for ascendency.

The House Bill, passed in December, was quite hard-line by any measure. Not only did it put requirements on Employers to more thoroughly vet their employees, it increased funding for enforcement; would make being illegal a felony; criminalizes any aid to illegal immigrants (including aid provided by charities or church groups, from food to shelter to medical care). It was also happily dancing in the land of the sugarplum fairy as it envisioned detaining all illegal immigrants in federal custody pending trials or deportation (as opposed to the current procedure where such people are simply given a court date on a piece of paper, and asked nicely to show up to be deported - somehow, not many of them show up). The President's plan for a guest-worker program was rejected out of hand, which is quite the thing for a Republican-led Congress to do - but then this is an election year, and Georgie won't be around too much longer.

The Senate bill passed last night was by comparison to the House bill far more conciliatory. It offers provisions not only for guest workers to gain a path to full citizenship, but also a way for those already in the country to get into the queue (albeit the BACK of the queue, with extra fines and back taxes and background checks to pass). The bill passed the Senate committee with the votes of all 8 Democratic members, and 4 of the 10 Republicans, enough to put it over the top - and further displaying where the division lines are drawn. The real fun starts now, as both bills have to be reconciled with each other before going before the President. It should be fun to watch. And boy, I'm glad I have a green card already.

What surprised me the most in this whole debate this year has been the mass protests we've seen in California and elsewhere. Aren't mass protests what those crazy Europeans do? Well, five hundred thousand might not count as a general strike, but it's still pretty impressive. In years past, those most affected by the debate - the illegal workers themselves - tend to shy away from publicity, rocking the boat, or anything that would bring attention, really. It has the potential to kickstart the debate into a new level.

Business groups are also standing in support of immigrant's rights groups. Surprise you? It shouldn't; they have traditionally tended to be in favor of anything that meant they got more cheap labor with no real need to check documents too closely. As illegals are more easily exploited than any other sector of the workforce, they're great to hire! You don't have to pay a living wage, or benefits, and you can just fire them at will. Even better though, because you can do that, it makes it easier to offer lower wages to actual Americans, too! After all, if Jose will do your job for $8.00 an hour, that means you'd better do it for that - or less! Competition and capitalism at its finest. It is interesting to see Republicans actually opposing immigration on the grounds it depresses wages for lower-income American workers (a notion debunked by a recent paper from the American Immigration Law Foundation); I guess the notion of having companies pay a living wage in the first place is nicely antiquated.

The entire immigration issue does leave a bitter taste in my mouth. Mainly because it seems so easy for companies to relocate out of State - or even nation - to find the best location. The most tax free, with easiest environmental regulation, loose labor protection laws and highest profit potential. Try and do that as an individual though, and you'll find it's not so easy. Apparently free trade doesn't trickle down to the trade of your skills for a decent wage, if that means crossing a border.

For the most part, those in this country illegally are actually working, making money to either support families here, or their country of origin. It makes a hell of a lot more sense to have them legal and paying more taxes and be subject to the same protections and responsibilities, than it does to pretend erecting more fences is going to stop people wanting to come here to seek a better life for themselves and their families. Ultimately, if you're anti-immigration, you're rejecting everything that built this country over the years.

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