A bipartisan solution to US immigration remains possible

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The author was the U.S. deputy commissioner of immigration in the Reagan administration and oversaw implementation of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.

If America is to remain true to its legacy as a nation of immigrants, then both major political parties need to reconsider their established positions and move to the center. Republicans need to stop demonizing immigrants and recognize that immigration is good for both the country and our economy. And Democrats must recognize that not all economic immigrants are refugees, and that uncontrolled illegal immigration endangers our security, strains public resources, and undermines support for legal immigration.

Although the current presidential campaign suggests otherwise, I believe that Americans still support a generous legal immigration policy and a balanced policy of controlling illegal immigration, but that this core marker of our identity is at risk. But there is a framework that will resolve our decades-long divide. This requires compromise from both parties but can be easily achieved if we work together for the common good.

First, we must revive the bipartisan Senate border security bill that stalled in May. This acknowledged that our asylum process is dysfunctional. While it is true that a critical part of strengthening border security is narrowing eligibility for asylum and improving the standard that requires applicants to demonstrate a credible fear of persecution, improving the mechanics of the system and speeding up the process will be equally important.

However, our conversation about illegal immigration has become too focused on the border. The Biden administration had directed that “the fact that the individual is not denaturalizable” in 2021. . . should not be the sole basis for enforcement action against them”. Prioritizing the elimination of criminal aliens is sensible policy, but this seismic shift was tantamount to the local police force announcing that it would no longer issue tickets simply for jaywalking, which of course only leads to more people jaywalking.

If illegal immigrants believe they can stay in America if they can somehow get to Cleveland or Denver and stay out of trouble, their numbers will grow. Simply put, controlling illegal immigration requires a credible domestic enforcement component.

The second element in the framework is the creation of a self-updating legal migration protocol. Political divisions have prevented changes to legislation on legal immigration for decades, leaving the country with a static, complex system that does not respond to changing demographic and economic conditions. Administrations of both parties have attempted to rewrite the law through decrees, creating chaos and disrupting the balance of power between the legislature and the executive.

A better approach would be to adopt a protocol similar to that used successfully to rationalize military installations since the end of the Cold War. An independent commission of expert members appointed by the president will analyze available data, hold public hearings and make recommendations on annual acceptance levels for the next decade. This will occur across a range of immigrant and non-immigrant categories, including employment, refugees and family reunification.

Quotas recommended by the commission, if accepted by the president, will become law unless rejected by Congress within the specified period. The process will be updated every five years. Such an approach has the advantage of reducing the influence of short-term political considerations.

Finally, upon ratification of a constitutional amendment limiting birthright citizenship to children of U.S. citizens and legal immigrants, we should grant immigrant status to millions of law-abiding illegal immigrants who have long been in the United States.

As the Biden administration noted in its 2021 enforcement directive, “The majority of undocumented noncitizens who may be subject to removal have been contributing members of our communities for years.” We need to ensure that these people fully participate in our democracy rather than standing on the sidelines. Congress should create a legalization program for people who have been in the country since 2022 and meet strict qualification standards. However, this regulation can only come into force if the constitutional amendment limiting the right to citizenship by birth is approved within three years from the entry into force of the enabling legislation.

If the United States is to prosper as a nation and maintain political stability, rebuilding our broken immigration system is essential. No matter who wins on November 5, this should be the number one job of the next Congress and presidential administration.