Another sideshow
America needs a comprehensive immigration deal
President Donald Trump’s decision to declare a national emergency so he can build a wall along the border with Mexico won’t solve the problem of illegal immigration.
The gambit only invites litigation that will squander taxpayer money and other resources sorely needed to address a host of border-related issues. Those issues include illegal immigrants but also the status of the Dreamers, the need to promote legal immigration, the fate of a program that essentially allows wealthy foreigners to buy green cards and, as The New York Times reported last weekend, the problem of rampant pollution in border cities.
America needs a global solution — one in which the president, both chambers of Congress and both political parties compromise to move the needle on all of these topics. However, Congress repeatedly has failed to work across party or chamber lines on immigration and other issues, so recent presidents have felt empowered to act on their own. In Mr. Trump’s case, the issue is immigration. In Barack Obama’s case, it was health care, among other issues.
Mr. Trump’s critics, including some fellow Republicans, have accused him of overreach — of trying to usurp Congress’ authority in financial matters. That will be one of the key points on which Mr. Trump’s emergency declaration is challenged in court. It’s a valid point, yet there is some irony in members of Congress criticizing the president for usurping authority they’ve failed to exercise themselves.
The president decided to declare a national emergency, potentially allowing him to divert Defense Department money for wall construction, because he didn’t like the deal Congress reached last week to address some immigration issues and avert another government shutdown. That deal allowed for 55 miles of wall construction — far less than the 200 or so miles Mr. Trump has called for — while also increasing the ranks of Border Patrol officers, expanding the number of immigration judges and setting new guidelines for the operation of detention centers.
However, neither that deal nor the emergency declaration does anything about the Dreamers, young people who were brought to America illegally by their parents and consider the U.S. their home. The fate of the Dreamers has been under discussion for years. They may be senior citizens before Congress finally decides what to do about them.
And what about other issues drowned out in the wall debate? One is water and air pollution that originates at poorly regulated factories in Mexico and affects towns on the U.S. side of the border. Talk about illegal border crossing.
Then there’s the EB-5 visa program, which provides fast-track residency for wealthy foreigners who invest at least $500,000 in U.S. business projects. The concept is a disgrace and the program should be abolished.
The president and congressional leaders should roll up their sleeves and tackle these issues. That’s why they were elected. The American people want real progress — not more litigating, sniping and posturing — on issues vitally important to the nation.