Conclusion

What we have found in this background report tells us much regarding the shape that "immigration politics" and public policy is likely to take in the foreseeable future. The Caucus's extreme ideological agenda, long-standing ties to anti-immigrant groups, and cohesion in a fractured House of Representatives makes it a noxious ingredient in the melting pot of America. It has drawn even well-intentioned immigration reform proposals down into an abyss of nativism and xenophobia. And if its proposals to overturn the Fourteenth Amendment gather enough cosponsors to be taken seriously, it may wind up provoking a constitutional crisis of the most serious kind.

Map of House Immigration Reform Caucus Member Districts

Click on the above map to expand to see the entire map, or download it here for a larger image.