Immigration reform amid crying children

By wide margins, Americans are appalled by the policy that removes immigrant children from their parents at the border. Americans across the political spectrum are upset by a policy change that went into effect earlier this year and has resulted in more than 2,000 immigrant children being held in makeshift shelters, apart from their parents.

President Trump blames the problem on Congress and previous presidential administrations, but the heart of the issue lies in his own administration's decision to enforce a "zero tolerance" rule against anyone crossing the U.S. border illegally. All adults caught crossing the border without permission are charged with illegal entry into the U.S. Children are not charged, and, therefore, are not jailed with their parents. While this can sound reasonable, the result of this policy is heart-wrenching and has been called "un-American" and "immoral."

By attempting to shift blame for the problem to Congress Democrats in Congress — who control neither the Senate nor the House and cannot pass any legislation without Republican assistance — Trump is setting up a false culprit — Democrats and past administrations — when the separation of children from parents is the result of his administration's decision to unleash a "zero tolerance" policy and let the chips fall where they may. The Castigator-in-Chief takes a "Not my fault, not my problem" attitude toward the crying children and sobbing parents. There is a "serves 'em right!" aspect to this policy and attitude. If you don't cross the border, you won't lose your children.

Liberals on immigration issues have worked hard to make immigrants of all types seem sympathetic, non-threatening, benevolent, admirable, and wonderfully American. Most immigrants are non-threatening and benevolent and seek only a better life in the United States, but their arrival on our borders are creating problems. A small minority are criminals. Many others — "good people," as Trump would say — take desperate measures, such as identity theft, faked documents, "borrowed" Social Security numbers, all of which create criminal, business and personal problems.

Liberals deny these problems exist and see only the positives of immigration, legal or illegal: they pay taxes, they work hard, they do the work most Americans refuse to do, they send money home to families across the border, they contribute to America's vibrant culture. Their defenders have proclaimed that there is no such thing as an "illegal" immigrant and have made the less offensive "undocumented" the only politically correct way of referring to people who break the law by crossing the border without permission.

The surge in illegal immigrants crossing the border from Mexico has been a political problem for decades. In 1986, Congress passed and Ronald Reagan signed the Immigration Reform and Control Act. The law provided a path to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants. They had to fill out some paperwork, document that they had been in the country a minimum number of years and were productive. Churches and other organizations rallied to assist illegal immigrants in completing the paperwork required by the new law. Businesses would be forbidden to hire illegal immigrants (except that part of the law was never enforced).

There was a sense that "this is the solution" to the whole illegal immigration problem. The estimated 3 million or so immigrants in the country illegally would fill out the paperwork and would be granted legal status. Restrictions on hiring would reduce the incentive for others to come to the United States illegally.

It didn't work. Millions of immigrants who had been here for years were granted legal status, but that only encouraged others south of the border to sneak in and wait for their opportunity to earn citizenship. The numbers of illegal immigrants continued to grow and now is estimated at 11 million, a three-fold increase. Many Latino immigrants showed little interest in assimilation into American culture. Many never learned the English language or American history.

Congress tried again in 1990 and 1996 to fix the immigration problem, but the problems remained and were compounded by the arrival of desperate people after the collapse of economies and rise in crime in Central America.

President Trump and Congress have an untenable situation with a long history. Voters will not stand for policies that result in the family dismemberment taking place along the border. The caustic political culture makes it much harder than in 1986, 1990 or 1996 to find a workable solution.

Republicans in Congress will need to champion reasonable, workable, enforceable immigration reform, and Democrats will need to help their colleagues across the aisle.