Immigration Reform 2013: Is the Gang Of Eight Offering Real Reform Or Empty Rhetoric?

After forming four years ago, the Gang of Eight finally came forward with a plan earlier this year. However, as the Gang of Eight's plan for immigration reform continues progressing forward in the Senate, one thing has become abundantly clear: this bill is only about partisan politics.

Whether you agree or disagree with the content of the bill, you have to admit both sides of the aisle aren't serious about actual reform.

Almost two weeks ago Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) warned that the immigration reform bill did not have the necessary 60 votes to override the anticipated filibuster. Now Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), author of the bill, says the same thing.

Senator Rubio says the bill lacks support from the public because Americans don't trust the federal government to actually enforce the law. Which, given the fact that we are only in this situation because of their inability to secure our border in the first place ... do you blame them?

Regardless, after four years of supposedly working on bipartisan solutions, the best they can come up with is a bill that can't even get 60 votes?

If politicians on either side actually cared about immigration reform, protecting our borders, and simplifying the immigration process, we would have already passed a bill.

Politicians don't care about actually helping immigrants or the Latino community, they care about getting votes.

The politicians involved in this bill are just riding political waves. They only wrote the bill because they thought it would make them look good, but as soon as the discussion started getting tough, they tried to disassociate themselves with the bill.

Senator Rubio, author of the bill, indicated in an interview on Hugh Hewitt's radio show earlier this week that he would not support the bill unless amendments were added to the legislation.

If the author of the bill doesn't even think the bill is good enough to pass in its original form, why should we take the Gang of Eight seriously? After four years, this is the best they have? Americans deserve more than playing politics.

Both parties pretend to champion the Latino community, but refuse to actually help them by doing anything of substance, including our president. While President Obama has advocated for other special interest groups, he has remained nearly completely silent on the legislation passing through Congress.

What America needs right now is leadership, not rhetoric. We need politicians who are willing to put aside party politics and actually make decisions that are best for Americans, not worry about getting themselves re-elected.