Voice Of Reason

From IBD:
Posted 5/16/2006

Immigration: President Bush makes a strong case for the "rational middle ground." Polarized political camps may not be pleased, but thinking Americans will welcome his leadership.

The president of the United States, even one who appears not to be very popular at the moment, can accomplish quite a lot with 17 minutes of plain talk from the Oval Office in prime time. George W. Bush's Monday evening speech on immigration reform may prove to be one of the most effective acts of communication in his presidency.

We say this knowing full well that the president probably made new enemies among the people who have taken death-before-compromise stands on the immigration issue. These are the folks who get most of the media attention, and the president gave them plenty to complain about.

To the amnesty-now crowd, his plan to put National Guard troops on the border is "militarization." To the Minutemen it's woefully inadequate — and don't get them started on his guest-worker plan.

We've heard again and again how the nation is deeply divided and that there's no political gain from taking the middle ground and brickbats from both sides. But the president believes otherwise, and on Monday he convincingly staked his claim to the center.

With more detail than in the past, he outlined the sort of bill he would like to see from Congress. He explained how tougher enforcement, on the border and in the workplace, can co-exist with a realistic and humane policy toward the current population of illegal immigrants. He made the distinction between simple amnesty and earned citizenship. He noted that there is a "rational middle ground between granting an automatic path to citizenship for every illegal immigrant, and a program of mass deportation."

His plan has weak spots here and there. One is his suggestion that a plan for permanent residency favor the illegals who have been here the longest. Such a rule is too easy to get around with the help of fake documents, and there's nothing fair about crediting people simply for spending a certain number of years in this country, underground and unassimilated.

It makes more sense to pin eligibility on future behavior and to raise the bar high — requiring would-be legal residents to pay fines and back taxes and learn English, and making them attain a high school-level education. This would help ensure that legalization is open only to those truly motivated to become Americans.

We also see the need for some changes in the reform bill now moving through the Senate. A major flaw is the measure's proposed new rules for legal immigration, which downplay skills and invite wholesale immigration by aging relatives of workers. The nation needs productive newcomers, not a further boost to the Medicare population.

Even if the president supports the Senate bill in general terms, he's not telling the enforcement-minded House Republicans to roll over and play dead. If anything, his five-point plan is tilted toward conservative concerns — border security, barring employment by illegals and promoting assimilation. He truly seems to want a meeting of minds in Congress, leading to a reasonable compromise.

Is such a thing possible? Let's say this much: The president on Monday made it more possible than it was before. By putting his plan on the table, he has left Congress with no excuse for failing to act. Earlier, the case could be made that he had not made himself clear enough or did not consider immigration reform his top domestic priority. No more. Congress now has all the presidential leadership it needs, or has any right to demand.

As for the perils of taking the middle way in a nation allegedly so divided, the president seems to believe he has a silent (and realistic) majority on his side. From what we've seen of polls, he's right.

Americans want both a secure border and some enforceable plan, such as a guest worker program, to bring the law in line with the needs of the economy. Our guess is that he was speaking for them, not just to them, on Monday.