Immigration and Reality
Better to be pragmatic than talk tough on illegal immigrants

Thursday, June 28, 2007

THE EFFORT to overhaul the nation's broken-down immigration system, lifeless in the Senate earlier this month, has embarked on a tenuous and possibly terminal second act. Under attack from talk radio, unions, xenophobes and others, the White House and reform-minded Republicans have maneuvered to salvage legislation that would address the core problems of tightening enforcement of existing laws and providing a legal future for the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the country. The risk is that in the desperation to keep the bill alive, it will be amended to the point of unworkability.

Of particular concern is an amendment by three of the bill's Senate Republican sponsors, Jon Kyl (Ariz.), Lindsey O. Graham (S.C.) and Mel Martinez (Fla.). It would require immigrant heads of households to return home within three years to apply for legal status, a mandate that probably would overwhelm already badly burdened consulates and prompt millions of illegal immigrants to opt out of the legalization procedure. Potentially more damaging is a provision in the same amendment that would criminalize and imprison people -- including millions of tourists and students -- who overstay their visas. Until now those people have been handled with administrative measures. Requiring that they be arrested pending deportation could mean hiring thousands of new agents and building massive new prison capacity -- and an enormous diversion of law enforcement time and energy for a population that poses no evident threat to homeland security.

The idea behind the amendment is to give the bill a get-tough sheen that will mollify critics and provide cover for wavering senators. Some immigration reform advocates remain confident that the bill can be "fixed" at a later date -- i.e., stripped of onerous provisions. Maybe. But there is also a risk that skittish senators will simply stick themselves, and the country, with a bad law. That makes no sense. As Gov. Janet Napolitano (D-Ariz.) says, "If they're going to eat the pain of doing an immigration bill, they might as well pass a good one."

The enemies of immigration reform remain unable to articulate a realistic alternative to the Senate legislation that would address the plight of the 12 million undocumented immigrants. They seem to imagine that by ignoring them, or harassing them, they will simply fade from view. They won't. If it's not resolved in this congressional session, the problem will come back again and again. Better to fix it now.