Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-Clueless): Illegal Immigration Reform Will Create Jobs or Something

Let me sell Sen. Schumer a vowel. When unemployment is at 9.2% and food stamp recipients are at record levels, there aren't enough jobs to go around for citizens and legal immigrants. The illegal immigrants need to go home.

(Politico) — Sen. Chuck Schumer is attempting to revive moribund efforts to pass a comprehensive immigration bill, telling POLITICO Monday that he will hold a hearing next week focused on the economic argument for an immigration overhaul.

It’s a subtle shift in emphasis for immigration reform advocates, who met recently with Schumer (D-N.Y.) to plot a strategy.

“We decided we ought to start highlighting the fact that immigration creates jobs rather than takes them away,” Schumer, the No. 3 Senate leader, said in an interview. “Everyone agreed that is how we are going to start talking about immigration, as a job creator.”

The change in emphasis capitalizes on an all-consuming focus in Washington on the economy. President Barack Obama spent several weeks in the spring pushing for immigration reform, including a speech that highlighted the economic benefits, but the issue has been overshadowed by budget negotiations and stalled by a Republican-controlled House.