Hoping nobody would notice, the immigration issue is back on the table even as the Presidential campaign progresses. Senate Republicans plan to introduce a package of as many as 11 bills that establishes a hard line on illegal immigration. Though it was introduced last year by Rep Heath Shuler (D-NC), the current bill, Secure America Through Verification and Enforcement Act of 2007 (HR 4088), the so-called SAVE Act, was a low-profile initiative until now.

The current immigration is another “enforcement only” piece of legislation, which clearly is a form of social exclusion. The “SAVE Act” would expand the Basic Pilot electronic employment verification system to all employers, expand the SSA “no-match letter” program, continue making local law enforcement to become immigration agents, increase the number of detention beds, and the continuation of militarizing the border.

Earlier this month, the Republican leadership tried to force the House floor to vote on the SAVE Act by using a “discharge petition” maneuver. A “discharge petition” is a special procedural motion that would allow the bill to go straight to the floor for a vote without going through the full committee process first. As of now, the petition is still short of the 218 signatures needed. They currently have accumulated 181 signatures.

As Congress returns from a two-week recess, the Republican leadership will be pushing hard to get the rest of rest of the bills co-sponsors to sign on. Theoretically, the immigration bill has enough Democratic cosponsors to clear the hurdle. The “enforcement only” SAVE Act garnered 49 House Democrats who were willing to cosponsoring Shuler’s bill - not to mention Republicans like anti-immigrant bigot-in-chiefs Tom Tancredo and James Sensenbrenner.

Before leaving for the two-week recess, only eight have signed and since then one more signed, for a total of nine who have signed onto the discharge petition: Rep. Heath Shuler [D-NC], Rep. John Barrow [D-GA], Rep. Nancy Boyda [D-KS], Rep. Christopher Carney [D-PA], Rep. Brad Ellsworth [D-IN], Rep. Paul Kanjorski [D-PA], Rep. Nick Lampson [D-TX], Rep. Mike McIntyre [D-NC], and Rep. Gene Taylor [D-MS].

Even though the political pendulum in American politics swung away from the right after the 2006 midterm election, it also seems there was a similar occurrence within the Democratic Party. The Democrats’ return to power in both houses of Congress came with a price; their victory was built on the back of more centrist candidates seizing Republican-leaning districts.

Those observing the American electorate for a while would be able to sense that the political forces within the party are entering a period of party realignment that the changes in the party’s philosophy can no longer be ignored. National party leaders, especially Rep. Rahm Emanuel, have led the effort towards the Democratic presence in Congress.

The “realignment” could be seen during the 2006 elections. During the 2006 election cycle, Emanuel, then head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), favored conservative Democrats, including former Republicans, over candidates that are more progressive.

The DCCC is the committee that plays a critical role in recruiting candidates, raising funds, and organizing races to elect Democrats. As part of Emanuel strategy to win back the House, Emanuel played kingmaker by recruiting and financially supporting his favored “Blue Dog” candidates during primary contests with other Democrats. One of the candidates Rahm Emanuel recruited 2006 election cycle was former NFL quarterback, Heath Shuler, the primary author of the SAVE Act.

In every new alignment in a political party, there are sharp changes, resulting in a new political power structure and a new status quo. A party that divides people into two contending political groups on the basis of their attitudes and beliefs about one set of public issues is disturbed by a new issue. Thus within each party two hostile blocs take form, located on opposite sides of the new issue and at the extreme of intensity of feeling on each side.

As an issue becomes increasingly dominant, the party is in danger of coming under the control of a polar force and so moves to the polar position on the crosscutting issue, the realignment is precipitated. This would explain why the Democrats sudden change to “move to the right” on Iraq and immigration.

Howie Klein, of Down With Tyranny, noted the Democrat’s strategy on dealing with the immigration issue.

Emanuel likes to boast that as the son of an Israeli immigrant himself, he’s the best friend the immigrant community has ever had. And he well may be a good friend of immigrants– from Israel. Others… not so much. Two weeks ago he sent a DCCC-connected candidate training a video of himself haranguing congressional candidates to “move right” on immigration or risk defeat at the hands of Republicans. This is similar to the terrible advice he shoved down candidates’ throats last year, although then he was demanding they move to the right on Iraq, dooming the candidacies of Lois Murphy, Francine Busby, Ken Lucas, Tammy Duckworth, Diane Farrell and several others who went along with his demands

There will be consequences if Democrats continue with this strategy. Both political Republican parties are sending a message to Latinos that it doesn’t want us. The Democrats are very close to committing the same mistakes as the Republicans, which cost them dearly in 2006.

This mentality behind the Shuler and the co-signers of the SAVE Act is based not only in an instinctive and primitive feeling of fear and ignorance through the foreigner as the unknown, but also in an aware abuse of power that takes profit of that general feeling and, instead of fighting it, develops mechanisms and strategies of subjugation and exploitation.

Recently, Shuler complained that John McCain “blocked his immigration bill from getting a vote.” There’s no excuse for the Democrats’ shameful position on immigration, but the reality is members of his own caucus and party who are determined to hang onto the bill.

The SAVE Act clearly reveals a form of social segregation that is based on nativist ideology. Fear and ignorance are the very bases for this social-individual racism. It is vital that we finally make a stand contact the remaining Democrat fence-sitters and remind them who put them into office.

The SAVE Act is no solution to the country’s immigration crisis We must educated the remaining Democrat fence-sitters that is piece of legislation is wrong because it is based on an ideology which is against the main ethical principle of equality of rights. We need a real comprehensive immigration reform law that would include a workable path to citizenship for the 12 million undocumented immigrants already in the country. A law that would also include a humane worker program - not a phony “guest-worker” program - that is based on deliberate economic manipulation, but on that regulates future migration and includes a path to citizenship for these workers.

For the list of Democrats we need to contact, visit David Neiwert of Orcinus

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