President Barack Obama wanted to try out another experiment in unilateral government, was persuaded it would hurt Democrats in the coming election, and backed up. The trick he had in mind — finding ways to make some illegal immigrants legal without the approval of Congress — now won’t happen until after November. Then, however, we just might get a storm for which no shelters are yet constructed.
Obama’s decision must have been a hard one because, while there were Hispanic votes to be had by his speedily declaring some form of amnesty, there were other votes to be lost. Apparently making up his mind after hearing from some concerned senatorial candidates, he said on TV the delay would give him more time to better inform skeptical citizens about all the benefits to come. Is it possible, conceivable, a matter of rationally reputable conjecture, that Obama is the one who could do with an improved understanding of what’s at stake?
Someone might tell him that amnesties for illegal immigrants attract more illegal immigrants who are mostly unskilled and struggle painfully to navigate this culture, tending to land in poverty from which escape is difficult. It is better for them, overburdened institutions, and the economy to stop the illegal flow. Prior to any legalization, then, we need a national ID system and improved border security. We also need legal immigration reforms whereby we decrease (but do not stop) admissions of the unskilled while cheering the arrival of more educated and entrepreneurially minded immigrants. They mostly thrive here.
To get to such step-by-step, carefully conceived, appropriately cautious, finally effective reform, it would be good for the president to engage diverse points of view in Congress. Blaming Washington stalemate on those horrid House Republicans, some liberals excuse Obama’s multiple executive orders threatening rule of law because that gets things done that they want done. It’s a monarchical-style extremism that makes supposed extremists on the right look like purring pussycats, especially when you consider some interesting facts and figures provided by Deroy Murdock in a National Review Online article. He shows the House actually addresses big issues. It is the Senate that mostly sits on its hands.
