Editorial: Chart a new course for U.S. immigration

Over the past week, a federal district judge allowed several measures in Alabama's draconian immigration law to stand. GOP presidential candidates traded barbs over border security and tuition discounts for children of illegal immigrants. And President Obama reiterated the need for immigration reform.

Obama is right. America clearly has an immigration problem and has long needed to overhaul its policies. Immediate attention is needed on two fronts: developing effective border security and finding a fair response to the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States.

Attacking the issues is critical, not only as a matter of public policy, but because it makes economic sense. While polls show that Americans overwhelmingly believe that illegal immigrants are a financial drain, economists argue that they boost the economy. They will increasingly be needed to fill the significant gap in the labor force left behind by baby boomers.

Hard-line Republicans such as U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota bristle at showing mercy to children of undocumented immigrants and advocate building a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border, while moderate Republicans and most Democrats embrace a more humane and nuanced response. Even so, they refuse to put politics aside and work together.

Deportations hit a record high last year, which the Obama administration attributes to increased border security. At the same time, the president readily admits that the measures taken fall short of what's needed.

The administration stepped up measures to deport illegal immigrants who are a public safety threat, while refusing to kowtow to enforcement hard-liners. For instance, the administration is reviewing the cases of 300,000 immigrants targeted for deportation because many of those entangled in the legal mess weren't a safety threat.

In the past, Republicans and Democrats alike favored the DREAM Act, a sensible plan that provided a path to citizenship for children of illegal immigrants who served in the U.S. military or attended college and met other stringent criteria. A Gallup poll showed that a majority of Americans support the plan.

Unfortunately, as Obama noted in a roundtable with Latino journalists last week, he's unlikely to garner the support needed to move ahead in the face of congressional gridlock. Nevertheless, the president should keep making the case.

That's why the debate over immigration among GOP presidential candidates is somewhat heartening. In 2001, Texas Gov. Rick Perry backed a DREAM Act-like bill in his state, which offers in-state tuition to children of undocumented immigrants. While Perry doesn't support a federal law, his stance shows that Republican views on immigration are far from monolithic.

While Perry has been excoriated for his views by GOP candidates Bachmann and Mitt Romney, he's found support among other high-profile Republicans, including former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, whom many Republicans would like to see jump into the race, has also criticized GOP hard-liners.

"Being in this country without proper documentation is not a crime," he said in 2008. "The whole phrase of 'illegal immigrant' connotes that the person, by just being here, is committing a crime."

Meanwhile, Republican Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley is now boasting that his state has the toughest immigration law in the country. Other states, such as Arizona, Georgia, Indiana and Utah, are also taking matters into their own hands in ways that exacerbate the issues and demonize people unfairly.

* * *