A plan? Any plan? Isn’t anyone willing to really address illegal immigrants?

As predicted, no one wants to touch immigration in this year’s presidential campaign.

Sure, they dance around it, stand firm as they say nothing, but when it comes down to proposing a policy, any policy, this year’s slate of presidential hopefuls is just about mum.

The reason? A wrong step here could derail a presidential bid before it even starts.

So what does that mean for the states across the country that are dealing with the influx of illegal immigrants and trying to figure out how they are going to provide the services, education and other needs necessary to take care of them?

It means that they are all out of luck — at least for another 24-36 months.

The answer to the challenges presented by illegal immigration is not going to come down from on high on a tablet.

If we are going to come up with a solution, we have to do more than take the pablum being dispensed by those who are supposed to be leading this nation.

We need a policy for how immigrants will come in, how they will be monitored once they get here and who is going to pay for the services they require.

After that, we can figure out how we are going to refashion our citizenship policy to accommodate them without hurting those who are applying to become American citizens legally.

Will it be easy? No. Is everyone going to be happy? Double no. Is it the right course of action for the future of this nation? Absolutely.

So when the official presidential campaign begins, perhaps it will be time to demand that those who are running for office deal with some real issues. At least, it would a refreshing start to the season of double-talk.

Published in Editorials on November 16, 2007 11:41 AM