Wouldn't Be Prudent

I never imagined this day. George Bush said something I actually agree with:

Massive deportation of the people here is unrealistic. It's just not going to work. You hear people out there hollering it's going to work. It's just not going to work.

Imagine, Bush actually recognises that it would be unrealistic to try and round up 12 million people, whose whereabouts are not entirely known, and ship them back to their country of origin. This is progress.

Now, I have no idea by what criterion Bush comes to claim that massive deportation of illegal immigrants is "unrealistic," though I suspect it has less to do with humanitarianism than it does with simple logistics, his chummy relations with Vincente Fox and a few American industries which enjoy and encourage the cheap labour supply. But either way, the recognition by Bush that a higly punitive and completely infeasible policy is, indeed, unrealistic is a signal that perhaps Bush is not completely mad. But his motives will always remain suspect.

Further on this topic, I would recommend reading Melhi's post on illegal immigration and exactly who the targets should be in any immigration reform.