Straight answers, somebody?
America’s immigration policies are broken, and there’s little sign in Washington of a bipartisan desire to fix them. President Donald Trump rages on about the crisis at the southern border, but has failed to come forward with plans that would end it. When it comes to effective proposals, Democrats haven’t been much better. Most of the contenders for the party’s presidential nomination can’t even bring themselves to admit that illegal immigration is a serious problem.
Both parties need to answer three questions. First, what does the U.S. owe refugees and asylum seekers who are desperately seeking the safety that their own countries can’t provide? Second, how many immigrants, and what kind, does the U.S. need to strengthen its economy and advance the well-being of all its citizens? Third, how should the country resolve the status of the 10 million or so undocumented immigrants already within its borders?
The rules need fixing, too: Layers of ill-adapted laws, administrative tweaks and court rulings have created incentives for filing asylum claims that lack merit, paralyzing the system and pushing the most desperate to the back of the line. Addressing all this will be costly.
As for refugees, the U.S. should set
the annual ceiling at 120,000. With the number of refugees worldwide remaining at a historic high, that figure—slightly higher than the Obama administration’s 2017 ceiling of 110,000—would be commensurate with the country’s historical commitment to a compelling humanitarian purpose.
Self-interest, as opposed to moral commitment, should guide policy on migration. Sustaining the dynamism of the U.S. economy requires more immigrants at every level of skill, especially those with talents in high demand.
This leaves the question of the undocumented. The president has called for “millions of illegal aliens” to be deported. That would take decades, cost tens if not hundreds of billions of dollars, hamstring the U.S. economy, and cause untold disruption and heartbreak.
But most of the Democrats running to unseat him are choosing not to grapple honestly with the issue—that is, with the need to secure the border, uphold the law, and limit humanitarian commitments to what is both affordable and politically feasible. Public recognition of the benefits of immigration has risen lately, but so has the polarization that makes workable remedies impossible. Enough. Posturing will no longer do. Immigration poses hard questions—and demands straight answers.