In the days after President Obama’s call for immigration reform, he has been roundly criticized by those who say he is attempting to gain favor with Latinos in advance of the 2012 presidential election.
Even if he is — and he might be, given the timing — that wouldn’t make it a less worthy cause.
Furthermore, there is substantial evidence the administration is making progress toward achieving the objectives that critics, mostly Republicans, say are precursors to comprehensive reform. The Obama administration has deported close to 400,000 illegal immigrants a year, with a focus on those who have serious criminal backgrounds. Last year, about half of those removed from the country were convicted criminals.
The border has become more secure during the past five years, though there is still work to be done.
It is here we believe there is opportunity to set progress benchmarks that might make immigration reform legislation more likely to garner the necessary support to pass. And the tightened borders would give other immigration reforms a better chance of working.
The ideas the president laid out last week during a visit to the Texas border city of El Paso were not revolutionary. He called for a path to citizenship for those in the country illegally, with the requirement they pay taxes and a fine, and learn to speak English.
And he reiterated support for the DREAM Act, which would give young people brought to the U.S. illegally a chance to attend college or join the military. Last week, Colorado’s U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet reintroduced the DREAM Act, which was shot down last year by a divided Senate.
We have supported all of the elements mentioned by the president, along with the Secure Communities program, which focuses on deporting dangerous criminals in the country illegally. And we’ve backed E-Verify, a government system that allows employers to check the legal status of potential employees.
In order for all pieces of the puzzle to work effectively, the U.S. must have reasonably tight control of its borders.
What good is passing reforms creating a path to citizenship if illegal immigrants still can sneak across the border and continue living in the shadows? That’s what happened after the last major reform in the 1980s.
Perhaps reform legislation should be tied to measurable increases in border security.
A recent Government Accountability Office report said the Border Patrol has operational control of 44 percent of this country’s southwestern border. That figure, which has been increasing significantly each year, is also a bit misleading since the administration focuses its resources on hot spots as opposed to inaccessible areas where crossings are rare.
What if reform legislation were written to where it wouldn’t kick in until specific border security benchmarks were met?
We’re not so naive as to think this would satisfy the most vociferous critics who probably never will believe the borders to be secure enough to move forward on immigration legislation.
However, it very well could persuade those lawmakers who want to find a way to support reasonable reforms in an environment where they have a chance of succeeding.
