Of fences and visas

摘要

When Ted Kennedy gazes from the windows of his office in Boston, he can see the harbour's "Golden Stairs", where all eight of his great-grandparents first set foot in America. It reminds him, he told his Senate colleagues this week, that reforming America's immigration laws is an "awesome responsibility". Mr Kennedy is the Democrat most prominently pushing a bipartisan bill to secure the border, ease the national skills shortage and offer a path to citizenship for the estimated 12m illegal aliens already in the country. He has a steep climb ahead of him.