The Hispanic Caucus has spoken and the Democrats are jumping.

When the border crisis first became news - after border state governors began screaming for help from Washington - most Democrats agreed that the 2008 law that treated minors from non-contiguous countries differently than those from Mexico and Canada had to be changed.

The GOP has made it a condition that for them to support the president's request for funds to deal with the crisis that the law be altered so that we can send the kids hoime. Now, House minority leader Nancy Pelosi says she's changed her mind and will not back any changes to the law.

Coincidentally, the Hispanic Caucus has come out against any changes as well.

New York Times:

Ms. Pelosi had suggested this month that she could accept changes to the Bush-era law that would expedite the deportation of children in exchange for President Obama’s emergency $3.7 billion request to deal with a sudden surge of unaccompanied minors at the border, mainly from Central America.

Since then, she said, Republican leaders have given little indication that they will back that funding request. One of her own members, Representative Henry Cuellar, Democrat of Texas, teamed up with Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, this week to introduce legislation that would amend the 2008 law, which is intended to stop sex trafficking, but which grants migrant children from Central America extra legal protections that have made them harder to return quickly to their home countries.

The Democratic leadership’s hard line raises the prospects of an impasse on Capitol Hill that leaves the Obama administration with no additional resources to deal with the border surge. Republican leaders have said they will not give the president a “blank check” without policy changes. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus was set to meet with Mr. Obama on Wednesday afternoon, and White House officials were to brief Democratic senators on the border issue in the evening.

Ms. Pelosi, in an interview on Wednesday, said she had spoken with Mr. Cuellar, and suggested it was not a friendly conversation.

“I do think the bill that was introduced is exactly the wrong way to go,” she said. “Is the only immigration bill we’re going to have one that hurts children?”

She said the Congressional Hispanic Caucus had united against any bill that changes the way children migrants are treated. The rest of the House Democratic caucus will follow the Latino lawmakers’ lead, she said.

“This crisis is an opportunity to demonstrate who we are as a country,” Ms. Pelosi said.

Pelosi is right. Since only 3% of illegal aliens show up for their asylum hearing, the 57,000 kids who are going to be allowed to stay until their case is heard will almost certainly become permament residents. "Who wer are as a country"? The doormat of the hemisphere, I would say.

Of course, all this does is encourage more kids to make the dangerous journey north. I'm sure if the Democrats thought it wouldn't cost them too much politically, they would advoicate for out and out amnesty for these kids. As it is, what they propose is stealth amnesty. Once they are free and clear of government control, the kids will disappear into commuinities of illegals and not be seen again.

We sure have come a long way from general agreement that the 2008 law had to be changed and the kids deported immediately to the Democrats making this a partisan issue that will "demonstrate who we are as a country."