Mr. Obama, Go Big on Immigration
This week, President Obama finally declared
his independence from a suffocating debate over immigration reform that
Republicans in Congress had never seriously joined. After waiting too
long for the obstructionists to move, Mr. Obama has freed himself to do
what he can to fix the broken-down system.
His
powers are limited, of course. Only Congress can give immigration the
long-term, comprehensive overhaul it so badly needs. A bipartisan bill
passed by the Senate a year ago — and strangled in the House — was the
best hope for that. But Mr. Obama should do his utmost, within the law,
to limit the damage done by an obsolete, unjust system that is deporting
the wrong people, stifling businesses, damaging families and hurting
the economy.
It starts with giving millions of immigrants permission to stay, to work and to live without fear.
Mr.
Obama needs to scale back the deportation machinery, which he greatly
expanded. His decision two years ago to halt deportations of young
immigrants called Dreamers was a good first step. Now he should protect
Dreamers’ parents, and, if possible, parents of citizen children. His
emphasis should be on protecting families and those with strong ties to
this country, and on freeing up resources to fight human traffickers,
drug smugglers, violent gangs and other serious criminals.
He
should end programs that recklessly delegate immigration enforcement to
local police. He should make it easier for family members of citizens
to seek green cards without having to leave the country for three or 10
years. Through common-sense fixes to onerous visa restrictions, wise use
of prosecutorial discretion and new programs to allow groups of
immigrants to apply to stay and work legally, Mr. Obama should move the
system away from its deportation fixation, and closer toward balance.
Mr.
Obama wants to shift resources away from the interior to the border,
where tens of thousands of children have recently been detained after
fleeing violence in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. He hopes to
stem the influx through swifter deportations, but his most urgent
priority should be giving these children lawyers and caregivers. While
many will probably be sent back, many others will likely qualify for
humanitarian protection.
Republicans
will howl over Mr. Obama’s solo actions. Let them. Let the party pay a
heavy price among Latino and Asian voters for failing to tame its
nativist wing, whose only idea for immigration is a fantasy of an
airtight border and mass expulsions.
Most
Americans find the Republicans’ enforcement obsession unconvincing;
polls support the moderation and legalization that Mr. Obama and
Democrats have fought for. But fear and panic do respond to stoking, as
in places like Murrieta, Calif., where protesters this week blocked
buses carrying recent migrants to a Border Patrol center. In a farcical reaction
to a concocted emergency, Murrieta’s mayor announced that the city had
set up an “incident action plan,” so police and emergency officials
could keep a few dozen women and children from destroying his town.
Nobody
was even being released in Murrieta. But the mayor urged residents to
complain, and in a pageant of ugliness, dozens took action: They waved
flags, screamed “U.S.A.!” and turned three buses back.
As
the border crisis plays out, public support for legalization will be
tested. But Mr. Obama can ease fears if he acts on the belief that
millions who are here are a benefit to the country and deserve a chance
to stay. Through cynical abdication, Republicans wasted a precious
chance to fix immigration for the 21st century. That game is over. The
president has moved on. It’s about time.
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