Immigration: Without discipline, humane border policy fails

In his nascent presidency,

Joe Biden is unfurling big ideas for fixing the immigration program. Any smart plan will loosen howls by extreme opinions, be they for shutting the borders tight or opening them wide, so he might as well do the right thing. Rebuilding the system to be more humane would be welcome. But protecting American labor from unfair competition is also essential. That means controlling who enters and how many enter the country.

And so, what does Biden have in mind? Start with his two nobrainers. One is rapidly legalizing the status of the “Dreamers,” immigrants brought to this country illegally as children.

The other is raising prosecutions for drug traffickers and human smugglers.

His plan to put the estimated 11 million immigrants in the

U.S. illegally on a path to citizenship makes sense — but only if paired with a requirement that employers use a database, such as E-verify, to certify that all new hires have a right to work in the United States. This enforcement piece was part of the unsuccessful 2013 immigration reform bill that most Democrats supported.

Biden’s initial plans don’t mention this means to reassure Americans that the laws will be respected going forward. The vast majority of immigrants who enter illegally come here for a job.

E-verify is already mandatory for the federal government and federal contractors. And a handful of states require that all or most employers use it. The program is otherwise voluntary, although over 750,000 employers have joined up.

Former President Donald Trump’s talk on immigration was nasty but mainly talk. He’d say vile things about foreigners of color but then refuse to take the one step that could have come close to stopping illegal immigration. He would not support E-verify.

The dirty secret was that Trump and other Republicans were happy to harass undocumented immigrants, but they would not prevent businesses from exploiting their labor.

To find out more about Froma Harrop and read features by other Creators writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators webpage at creators.com.