• BraveSirZaphod@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    Immigration reform requires Congressional action, and I’m sure you know the state of Congress right now. I’m gonna take a wild guess that you’re on the younger side, haven’t been around for many presidential elections, and didn’t understand that statements made during the campaign are essentially a glorified wishlist unless they’re things that fall solely under executive authority. The fact of the matter is that no President has the power the unilaterally act on immigration.

    And as a fun fact, that Reagan bill from 1986 got through Congress with more Democrats voting for it than Republicans. In fact, if you only look at Republican votes in the House, the bill would have been voted down.

    https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/99-1986/h872

    So the real question is, if Biden had the Congress of 1986 rather than the current one that’s so dysfunctional we don’t even have a Speaker in the House, do you really think that nothing would be happening?

    I get that politics is depressing and deeply frustrating, and that change always happens way too slowly. But if you look at it and come away thinking that there’s no meaningful difference between the parties, you’re simply not paying attention.

    For what it’s personally worth, I’m in favor of largely unrestricted immigration and have also been frustrated with a lot of Biden’s actions. But I can also understand that there’s a level of political reality that has to be accepted. A lot of voters want some level of stronger border control. Tariffs are essentially a handout to domestic blue collar union workers which are vital to winning a presidential elections. It’s all cynical and shitty, but you either accept the reality of the situation, or you don’t and enjoy the consequences of empowering people who actually only care about money and personal power.