Indiana just became a battleground state in the politics of immigration. Senator Evan Bayh
announced Monday that he would not be seeking reelection. He was a
solid vote for amnestyand the man most likely to keep that Senate seat in Democratic hands.
Republicans now have a prime pickup opportunityand so does the movement for patriotic immigration reform. One of the GOP candidates, former Rep.
John Hostettler, was among the leaders in the fight against amnesty in the House. He's also someone willing to openly mention the immigration dimension of the jobs crisis and contemplate bold new policies to address it.
Consider: Middle-class wages are stagnant and employment opportunities are gloomy. Although the official
unemployment rate dipped below 10 percent last month, the real economy still shed more than 22,000 private-sector jobs.
Over the same period, however, the federal government added about 125,000 immigrants and foreign
"temporary" workers to the
labor force, a total that could reach 1.5 million this year despite the lingering economic malaise.
And even though some 15.3 million Americans remain unemployed, it is estimated that roughly 8 million illegal immigrants
continue to hold jobs in this country.