Via RCP, it’s Jorge Ramos, a guy so deep in the tank for illegal immigration that even other members of America’s pro-amnesty media are known to grumble about it. The most revealing thing about this clip is how little his argument depends on the particular hardships being suffered by kids in Central America. They face gangs, drugs, and violence if they’re sent back, he allows, but there’s no sense that this is some unique crisis requiring a more forgiving policy than might otherwise be advisable. He’s making a straight-up argument, essentially, that if a kid makes it across the border, a compassionate country should take him in, period. Quote: “First, we treat children like children, as if they were our own.” In fact, this bit makes me wonder what he has in mind by way of comprehensive immigration reform:

Deporting kids won’t solve anything.

The only long term plan that will work is immigration reform.

With immigration reform these children would arrive in a safe and orderly way.

They would? Visas on demand for the children of Central America, many of whom are years away from “doing the jobs Americans won’t do” and contributing to the economy, as amnesty fans so often emphasize vis-a-vis adult illegals? I’d be curious to hear Marco Rubio’s, John McCain’s, or even Chuck Schumer’s take on that. Ramos may well be right on how the Gang of Eight bill would operate in practice but the main beneficiaries of more liberal admission policies are supposed to be highly skilled immigrants, not young state dependents. I’m sure Schumer, at least privately, would be happy to see the bill metastasize into de facto open borders for vast populations in Mexico and Central America — hence Ramos’s confusion — but I’m not so sure Rubio and the Republicans do. You don’t suppose they misjudged the left’s intentions on this issue, do you?

Say this for the guy, though. At least he’s honest, calling for amnesty for the kids outright instead of jerking around with phony “due process” arguments designed to wreck the system so that they have amnesty in practice but informally. Exit question: If governments shouldn’t be in the business of deporting children, Mexico should go ahead and amnestize all the Central American kids currently waiting near its northern border to cross into Texas, right?