2013 bill a blueprint for solving immigration crisis

The leadership of the country and its citizens bemoan the escalating crisis at the southern border involving thousands of children. Finger pointing is the most convenient political tactic by elected officials and less than two months into his administration, President Biden already finds himself in the crosshairs of Republicans. The immigration issue is reminiscent of prior dilemmas during the influx of children to this country from Russia at the turn of the last century and from Europe in the late ’30s and early ’40s during the rise of the Third Reich.

Where do we start? An analogy may be helpful.

When a large building is constructed and a flaw requires some dismantling, to the degree possible, the foundation and certain components are preserved in the rebuilt structure. What does this have to do with immigration? Everything.

In 2013, a bipartisan “Gang of Eight” senators — Lindsey Graham, Marco Rubio, John McCain, Jeff Flake, Robert Menendez, Michael Bennett, Chuck Schumer and Dick Durbin — sponsored the Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act, S.744. The bill was omnibus comprehensive legislation reported favorably out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and passed by the Senate, 68-32. It included Title I, which addressed Border Security.

The bill was referred to the House of Representatives and Speaker of the House John Boehner killed it since he preferred piecemeal solutions.

Some components of the 2013 bill may need tweaking eight years later. However, there is no logical reason that a bill that received bipartisan sponsorship and nearly 70% Senate approval in 2013 cannot provide the foundation for effective emergency legislation today . In the movie “Twelve Angry Men,” a group of emotionally disparate men served as jurors in a murder trial. They began their deliberations with polar opposite opinions of the innocence or guilt of the defendant. Sequestered in a room with a mandate to reach a unanimous verdict, eventually they do so.

It is time for the majority and minority leaders of both parties to huddle for a weekend at Camp David with the administration and stay there — like President Carter with Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat — until they forge an immigration agreement. Perhaps S.744 from 2013 would provide a good starting point for their discussions.