Show Us, Mr. President

The president met recently with stakeholders in the immigration debate and repeated his commitment to immigration reform.

We believe him. The problem is that, so far, that commitment and something just shy of four bucks will get you something caffeinated and frothy but not much else by way of immigration reform.

What's needed is commitment from Congress and, respectfully, action from the White House.

Congress legislates; the president executes.

George W. Bush, too, had a genuine commitment to immigration reform and, while bills were created, they quickly fell victim to the tired ideological haranguing and demagoguery that has long permeated this debate.

A new paradigm is necessary — something to move Congress to legislate. That, we believe, will require bold action from the president, using his executive powers.

He has done this on the environment, empowering the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate greenhouse gases in the absence of congressional action. Yes, this has become mired in the courts, and congressional Republicans are trying mightily to halt it. The point, however, is that, at the very least, opponents are exposed for their intransigence, and the issue goes to the front of the line.

The president can do much the same with immigration — simply in how he enacts existing policy.

He could, for instance, grant hardship waivers so that the parents of U.S. citizen children are not deported.

He could let up on enforcement and deportations generally until Congress comes to its senses. Families are being inhumanely torn apart.

He could take another look at the "Secure Communities" program, which targets "criminal aliens" for deportation — to make sure that it isn't also ensnaring immigrants guilty only of working and feeding their families.

There is some evidence to suggest that it is doing just that.

The president could suspend a program that allows local law enforcement officers to act essentially as federal immigration agents. Because they really aren't and don't do it full time, no amount of training will bring them up to speed and make this program equitable.

These suggestions come from the National Immigration Forum, an immigrant advocacy group. They are worthy of consideration. But all these steps merely will be temporary.

Congress must step in with broader reform. The essential ingredients of this would include a guest-worker program with labor protections, a path to legal residency for the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants already here, in addition to added border and workplace security to compromise with hard-liners in Congress.

If a comprehensive approach doesn't appeal to Congress, it could take a more incremental approach. For instance, the DREAM Act would give young people a chance to stay in return for going to college or entering military service. In the interim, the administration could cease targeting these young people for deportation. And an agriculture/jobs bill is needed to fill agriculture's particular needs — including those of Wisconsin's dairies.

Some may have been taken aback by a recent Journal Sentinel story that told of Chinese investors securing visas — and paths to permanent legal residency — by investing at least $500,000 locally and creating at least 10 jobs. Getting the wealthy to come — with their money — is actually a good thing for this country. The EB-5 program allows this to happen.

But it does point to an inequity — the wealthy are able to buy their way in while less-advantaged immigrants are effectively prevented from earning their way in through work. This must change.

Mr. President: We believe you. You're committed. Show us how much.

REPRINTED FROM THE MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL.

DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS.COM