The Amnesty Dream is Dying

Some Republicans who were supporters of The Dream Act, which is essentially a path to amnesty for illegal aliens, have had a change of heart, especially after seeing some of their moderate colleagues kicked to the curb by the voters.  Among them is Utah Senator. Orrin Hatch.  Hatch watched this past year as his fellow Utah Senator Bob Bennett was primaried out of his job by a more conservative candidate.  Hatch is now rethinking positions that might earn him a conservative challenger:

To see how dramatically the immigration debate has shifted, look no further than Orrin Hatch.

The Utah Republican was the chief sponsor of the DREAM Act when it was first introduced in the Senate in 2001 and, later, in 2003. But now, worried about a potential tea party challenge in 2012, Hatch is steering clear of the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act.

On Wednesday, immigrant advocates who have been engaged in this fight for nearly a decade will very likely see the DREAM Act sputter again with a feeble lame-duck vote. And with it, any chance for broader immigration reform may be dead for the foreseeable future — potentially for years.

Like most of his Republican colleagues, Hatch would like to see the Senate focus on the economy and not immigration. “Democrats know this won’t become law but are moving forward with this show vote to curry favor with a political constituency,” Hatch spokeswoman Antonia Ferrier said.

It’s a remarkable turnaround from four years ago, when a Republican president and a Republican Congress pushed to liberalize immigration and create a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. But chastened by a grass-roots movement against illegal immigration, Republicans taking control of the House are lurching in the opposite direction, drafting a series of border security and enforcement bills cracking down on illegal immigration for 2011.

“The next two years will be a very, very bleak period for immigration reform and for immigrants,” said Frank Sharry, executive director of America’s Voice, which has been urging passage of the DREAM Act.

Say what you want about the Tea Party - they've certainly shifted the GOP to the right. Yes, they may have cost us a seat or two in the Senate with weak candidates, but as a whole the entire GOP has moved right and the voters have moved with us. Pursuing the Dream Act is Harry Reid's payback to the Hispanic groups that helped him keep his seat, but in the long run he's probably doing them no favors by insisting on a vote that is sure to fail.