I appreciate that legal immigration (as if people doing so illegally didn't wish this was an option for them, also) is an important issue for you, but other people matter, also.

The kids aren't doing so well right now. You or anyone you care about are not being detained away from family, so let's at least be thankful for that. This to me isn't even a political issue, it's a human rights issue. And to top it off you have an administration that is flat-out lying every chance they get, contradicting themselves in pathetic ways.

They tried and failed pretty recently. It takes a while for people to get on board again when something fails so miserably like that. It took healthcare 15 years to come back after it failed in 94.

It’s sad, but it’s become the neglected step child for both dems (not enough upside) and Repubs (just lukewarm). On the other hand dems have done not quite a 180 but a 170 on illegal immigration because their calculus is that it will resonate with their base, given Trump has taken away their union labor to some extent. Obama had greater numbers in detention but back then it was a too much a third rail issue to bring attention to.

Legal immigration has plenty of political attention.

As a way of beating your opponents with a stick.