With Rand Paul’s Endorsement, You Can’t Count Immigration Reform Out

One popular
takeaway from Tuesday’s primary loss by (soon to be former) House
Majority Leader Eric Cantor to newcomer David Brat is that
immigration reform—any effort to create an eased path to legal
residency and citizenship—took a big hit. That’s because Brat,
aside from being a
market-minded economics professor, is also something of a border
warrior who opposes expanded immigration. But that may not be
the case with libertarian-leaning Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) apparently
joining forces with an immigration reform group.

Paul has walked something of a fine line on the immigration
issue, which is a sensitive one for the Republican Party. Many GOP
hardliners on the issue seem absolutely committed not only to
making it harder to legally enter the country, but to offending
those who have already arrived. Paul hasn’t taken it that far, but
he has risked giving offense anyway without committing himself to a
clear position. His website says:

I do not support amnesty, I support legal immigration and
recognize that the country has been enriched by those who seek the
freedom to make a life for themselves. However, millions of illegal
immigrants are crossing our border without our knowledge and
causing a clear threat to our national security. I want to work in
the Senate to secure our border immediately. In addition, I support
the creation of a border fence and increased border patrol
capabilities.

But yesterday, the Partnership for a New American Economy

announced “Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) Joins Grover Norquist to
Address Need for Immigration Reform.” The press release from the
business-oriented immigration reform group is short on details
about Paul’s specific take, but Paul reportedly
told participants “the ball is moving forward” on immigration
reform.

The Partnership’s release adds, “Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) joined
Grover Norquist to talk about immigration reform and the Senator’s
ideas to strengthen border security, reform existing immigration
laws for employers and attempt to find common ground on smaller
immigration related matters.”

How that shakes out in terms of legislative votes and policy
proposals we’ll have to wait to see. Last year, he
voted against a major immigration reform proposal.

But Paul is a potential serious
contender for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. He’s
already
chastised his party over the Voter ID issue, saying it’s
offending people who might otherwise consider supporting the GOP.
The shift on immigration reform might well be part of his larger
effort to improve his own appeal—and that of his party.

Brian Doherty
yesterday explored just how libertarian American politics can
actually get, even at a “libertarian moment” that creates an
opening for people like Rand Paul. In this case, it could be that
the moment is pushing one prominent libertarian-leaner even further
toward personal freedom.