Election results good news for sensible immigration reform

Sikha Dalmia has a column at Reason explaining that immigration was a losing issue for the GOP. Hopefully they'll learn something from this.

The GOP's anti-immigration agenda was a big political loser in the midterm election. But by appointing Florida Senator Mel Martinez – a Cuban American who staunchly supports more liberal immigration policies – as the chair of the Republican National Committee, President Bush might have grasped that beating up on illegals may never again be a political winner for the GOP.

A Democratic Congress offers Bush an opportunity to make amends with the Latino community – not to mention escape his lame-duck status -- by a reviving his original, more enlightened approach to immigration reform.

Instead of alienating this community [Latinos], President Bush needs to court it. And he can do that first and foremost by quietly killing the 700-mile fence that he signed into law to appease the nativists in his party before the elections. Then he can go to bat on behalf of a comprehensive immigration reform that includes opening legal avenues for unskilled Mexicans to live and work in this country. This will in one stroke cure the problem of illegal immigrants and make it a non-issue both for Latinos and non-Latinos.

Whole thing here.