AMERICAN CONSERVATIVES AND IMMIGRATION POLICY DURING GEORGE W. BUSH PRESIDENCY

Abstract

Immigration reform in the United States is one of the hottest topics in politics, causing a split in American society. Numerous attempts by presidents and Congress to reform this sphere ended either in failure or in half-hearted measures that dissatisfied both supporters of immigration and its opponents. The article examines the role of American conservatives in blocking the liberal immigration reform of the George W. Bush administration in 2006–2008. I a very short period, representatives of various currents of the U.S. conservative movement were able to consolidate their positions on the basis of an anti-immigrant platform and use new tools of influence, both in relation to congressmen and in the formation of public opinion. The article analyzes the role of social networks and a new phenomenon in the conservative movement (the name was originally proposed by The New York Times) such as a “New Internet-linked national constituency”, which managed to very quickly and effectively close ranks among the opponents of the president’s “grand bargain” and destroy the unity of the pro-immigrant-minded elite. The article evaluates the actions of George W. Bush to initiate the immigration reform and explores the nature of the conflict between conservatives and the president. Analysis of various aspects of the political conflict that arose in 2006–2008 between the restrictionists and the president helps in better understanding of the situation within the conservative movement and the prospects for its development.