If you’re a Democrat and you want to know what the big fuss is about illegal immigration, this is required reading: Illegal Immigration a Problem for Democrats, Too. Heck, I’m making it required reading for anyone reading this entry.

There’s only one part I take issue with: “The tragedy for the party — and the nation — is that Democrats could do a much better job than Republicans controlling illegal immigration. That’s because Democrats are not afraid to do the only thing that could stop it, which is go after the companies that employ undocumented workers.” It would be irony if it was true.

However, it’s simply not true. The crux of the “enforcement-only” argument is that many undocumented workers will self-deport if they can’t find any jobs. How do you make sure they don’t have any jobs? By going after the employers, of course. Who’s trumpeting this view? Why, Mr. Sensenbrenner himself, the guy who is Mr. Big Bad Republican Enforcement-Only Immigration Hard-liner.

In the recent US News & World Report interview that I just linked to, Sensenbrenner says that it’s not possible to deport millions of illegal immigrants, but “if we shut off the jobs by enforcing employer sanctions, many of the illegal immigrants will simply decide to go home because they cannot make money in the United States.” See, straight from the horse’s mouth.

Other than that, the RealClearPolitics article is very good, showing why Democrats should care about this issue too.