Shamnesty versus Obamnesty?

So over the last 24 hours everyone’s jumped into the immigration reform news headlines, each with their own agenda. Kind of good timing for all of them because everyone needed a way to turn down the volume on the gun debate.

What better way than for the Gang of 8 to spring into action with their own flavor of immigration reform some are calling Shamnesty.

It right up there with it is the flip side, Obamnesty. The supposed result of tens of thousands of illegal immigrants being granted a “free pass” in the word of those who oppose it.

President Obama came out today with his own early AM statement, and is due to speak later today.

Why are both parties suddenly rallying to this issue? According to an article on Newsday.com, it’s simple:

The simultaneous immigration campaigns were spurred by the November presidential election, in which Obama won an overwhelming majority of Hispanic voters. The results caused Republican lawmakers who had previously opposed immigration reform to reconsider in order to rebuild the party’s reputation among Hispanics, an increasingly powerful political force.

That makes sense, but I doubt many Hispanic voters can be sayed to the Republican side just because some immigration reform was passed, when for years it was Republicans who halted any immigration reform changes of any kind.

Ezra Klien put an interesting spin on the subject of visa caps as they relate to potential economic benefit, found here in detail on Wonkblog:

Perhaps the key architectural question in building a new immigration system (as opposed to figuring out what to do with the failures of the last immigration system) is deciding whether we’ll focus our visas on drawing needed skills (for instance, by favouring immigrants with advanced degrees or who work in sectors, like agriculture, where we need more labor), emphasizing family unification or something else.

Immigration attorneys and lawyers will surely all be wondering what’s about to happen next. Will there be a bonanza of new clients trying to get in under the old system, or a rush of new ones?

Will the issue drag out or come to a sudden definitive closure>

Fast and simple just doesn’t seem like the Washington DC we know right?

Are both parties just showing off? Or is this going to be a fight like health care was?

More links for current stories:

The Prospector

National Journal

Senators present plan for immigration reform

Expect Few Ultimatums in Obama Immigration Speech

Bi-Partisan Immigration Reform Deal Announced as President Obama Set to speak today

Noting progress, Obama to lay out immigration reform vision

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