Pirate's Cove

First off, there’s this

(Washington Times) Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus said Wednesday that there’s a “general consensus” in his party that something big needs to happen on overhauling the country’s immigration laws and that more specifics would be unveiled this week at House Republicans’ annual retreat.

“I think politically speaking it’s a mixed bag, but the question is whether or not it’s something we have to do as a country, and I think that’s what’s trumping the political answer,” Mr. Priebus said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “You see in our party, whether it’s [Kentucky Senator] Rand Paul, who’s called for massive immigration reform, or [Florida Senator] Marco Rubio, I think you have general consensus that something big has to happen.”

Earlier in the day I noted a WSJ/NBC poll on American priorities, in relationship to “climate change” being dead last. Well, passing new immigration legislation was second to last. But, the GOP feels that they need to Do Something, and rather than getting tough, taking a stand for being a Nation Of Law over a Nation Of Men, it appears as if they’re moving down Squishy Lane towards Democratville (via Hot Air)

Ryan confirms GOP “principles” will include legal status for the 11 million, but he also says this will be a ”probationary status” to make sure the 11 million will not be “preferenced over people who did follow the laws.” It’s important to have confirmation that there will be a way out of the shadows. But the probationary period idea is problematic. Details will matter, but it would probably allow for people to get the right to work up front, but they could be kicked off of probationary status if certain security benchmarks aren’t met.

Advocates see this as bad policy: Why would undocumenteds step forward, if they know they can lose work status and get deported later because of nothing that they did, but only because Washington failed to decide certain metrics had been fulfilled?

However, Ryan also says the undocumented will be allowed to work as part of “probationary” status before security benchmarks are met. “You can be on probation,” Ryan says, “while the border is being secured.”

Ed Morrissey notes

Solution: No one comes out of the shadows until the border’s secured. The status quo on legalization holds in the meantime. There’s no rational reason why a country needs to make concessions to illegals before, or concurrent with, strengthening its borders, just as there’s no rational reason to think the GOP would use the security trigger to delay legalization ad infinitum. Everyone understands the demographic realities of the last election. Everyone knows how eager the Republican establishment is to attract Latino voters. And everyone knows how gleefully Democrats will demagogue them for dragging their feet on legalization while the border saga is playing out. Left to their own devices, Republicans would legalize illegals sooner rather than later. There’s no similar reason to believe that Democrats, left to their own devices, would eventually get around to tackling the border once legalization happened.

He also points out that this is pretty much the same kind of mule fritters encapsulated within the Gang Of 8 bill. But, really, don’t think Democrats will allow this to happen

(The Hill) House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Wednesday amplified the Democrats’ insistence that an immigration reform package include a pathway to citizenship for the nation’s illegal immigrants.

All Dems want are new voters beholden to the Dem Party. Republicans seem to think they’ll get some out of it. Neither of them are serving the purposes of the Constitution and law, nor the legal citizens of the USA