Approximately a week ago, I pointed out that some House Democrats have become bluntly critical, in public, about immigration — at least the illegal variety. Apparently a recent trip to witness the border chaos near El Paso and Tucson showed several of them the light.

Subsequently, one of those Democrats, Congressman Zack Space of Ohio, actually coined a useful word in an op-ed he had published in one of his district's newspapers [Illegal border crossing, smuggling an everyday event, Chillicothe Gazette, November 26, 2007]. Wrote Space:

"All immigration reform must start with securing our borders. That is a no-brainer. We need to construct barriers, invest in new technology, and hire more Border Patrol agents to physically prevent people from entering the country illegally.

"Secondly, we must increase enforcement and punishment for employers who hire undocumented workers. If there are no jobs to be had, there will be no reason to come here.

"And finally, we must make America the land of inopportunity for illegal immigrants by enforcing the laws we have on the books preventing them from receiving government assistance. If you have not paid into the system, you should not be able to take from it."

"Inopportunity"!! It doesn't just trip off the tongue, but it's both apt and memorable.

Elsewhere in his op-ed, Space sounds like a congressman actually interested in looking out for the working-class constituencies one historically associates with Democrats.:

"I always have been a strong supporter of protecting American jobs - especially from people who come here illegally to take those jobs.

"It is obvious to anyone who lives and works in rural Ohio we have an illegal immigration crisis. There are Americans who go without work, and there are illegal immigrants who receive benefits provided by a system that they do not pay into. I always have believed this was wrong."

Consistent with these views, Space is a co-sponsor of the highly bipartisan S.A.V.E. Act (Secure America with Verification Enforcement [H.R. 4088]), introduced in the House on November 6, 2007 by Congressman Heath Shuler (D — NC). At this writing, 45 House Democrats and 67 House Republicans are cosponsoring the bill.

Reflecting upon his border eye-opener, Space concluded his op-ed:

"We still have a long way to go before we begin to stem the tide of illegal immigration, and I will take what I have learned from my border mission back to Washington to push for much stronger enforcement through measures such as the SAVE Act.

"We simply cannot afford to wait any longer."