Harry Reid: A Case Study in Shifting Immigration Views to Appease Party Insiders
Democrat went from favoring low levels of immigration to supporting mass amnesty during his time in the U.S. Senate
By Robert Law on January 12, 2022
Former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) passed away on December 28 after a multi-year battle with pancreatic cancer. Reid served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives (1983-1986) and then the next 30 years (1987-2017) in U.S. Senate, including being majority leader from 2007 to 2015. As is customary for someone of Reid’s stature, he will be lying in state in the Capitol today, January 12, for his former colleagues to pay their respects. Typically, there would also be a public viewing but that has been called off because of Covid-19 concerns.
Reid was famously known for being a former boxer and son of a miner, who brilliantly wielded power with a sharp tongue and determination. Much of the legislative accomplishments that Democrats enjoyed during Barack Obama’s presidency can be attributed to Reid’s ability to whip the vote to get the bill to the president’s desk for signature.
Less known is that Reid began his political career as an immigration hawk who voted against President Ronald Reagan’s 1986 amnesty. Reid began to find his voice on immigration in 1993 after Democrat Bill Clinton defeated incumbent Republican President George H.W. Bush. That year, he introduced the Immigration Stabilization Act, which according to the bill summary was intended to “curb criminal activity by aliens, to defend against acts of international terrorism, to protect American workers from unfair labor competition, and to relieve pressure on public services by strengthening border security and stabilizing immigration into the United States.”
https://cis.org/Law/Harry-Reid-Case-Study-Shifting-Immigration-Views-Appease-Party-Insiders
