Show you can govern, GOP
Afar-right fringe holding up even the swearing-in of new representatives for the better part of a week and dictating rules that could ensure chaos in the House of Representatives for the next two years. A new speaker with a narrow majority, beholden even to a loopy bunch of anti-government types, conspiracy theorists, and the arguably fictional character that is Rep. George Santos. It seems an understatement to say that the Republican House majority isn’t exactly off to the most credible of starts as a pillar of a functional republic.
And things don’t seem to be getting better, with Republicans embarking on dubious investigations and passing a bill that’s going nowhere in the Senate to substantially defund the Internal Revenue Service.
If House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and his conference want to be seen as serious players in government, here’s a perfect place to start: immigration, the signature issue that Republicans keep running on, and then do little to address once they’re in power. And no, former President Donald Trump’s fantastical wall and his inhumane treatment of illegal immigrants don’t count as serious policy worthy of a nation long seen as a beacon of freedom and justice around the world.
While President Joe Biden has at least ended the open sadism of the Trump administration, he has failed to deliver a comprehensive immigration policy. Admittedly that was an unlikely outcome with a 50-50 split in the Senate, where Republicans used the threat of a filibuster to block a major reform bill Mr. Biden proposed that would have granted legal status – though not citizenship – to an estimated six million to seven million undocumented immigrants. Nor has Mr. Biden been able to reach an agreement with Republicans on the fate of some 800,000 people brought into this country illegally as children, who have so far been protected against deportation by former President Barack Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
In lieu of a coherent policy, Mr. Biden has resorted to questionable patches. His latest policy has elements of the absurd, including a requirement that would-be immigrants get an airline ticket to fly to the U.S. Many of these people are traveling thousands of miles on foot with what few possessions they have on their backs.
The Democratic president’s travails may delight his adversaries, but stonewalling for the sake of political gain is not responsible governing.
We all know what real solutions look like: a humane policy on asylum requests; thoughtful quotas on immigration that balance demand, the nation’s workforce needs, and the country’s ability to absorb newcomers; fair, rigorous paths to citizenship for the Dreamers and the millions of other undocumented people already in this country; and a more enlightened foreign policy aimed at improving conditions in countries that are major sources of illegal immigration, such as El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. And yes, a secure border, with up-to-date surveillance technology and well-funded Border Patrol, Customs and Immigration agencies.
Mr. Biden appears ready and willing to negotiate a comprehensive bill. Now that Republicans have control of the House, it’s time for them to stop running on a self-fulfilling platform of broken government and accept the responsibilities of governing. Unless, that is, immigration is nothing but a political talking point they’re determined never to solve.