THE ISSUE: IMMIGRATION REFORM LOOMS

Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Florida)
August 1, 2009
Broward Metro Edition

The zeal to tackle much-needed immigration reform on Capitol Hill appears more like a simmer than a blaze at the moment. Considering the scarring fights this flinty issue provoked in recent years, and how much Congress has on its plate right now, a postponement would be no surprise.

However, that doesn't mean there aren't other immigration-related areas that can be addressed.

In fact, the Obama administration is enacting a number of administrative policy changes, and those moves are welcome.

Among an array of measures, the Department of Homeland Security has been directed to prioritize rounding up illegal immigrants with criminal records, as well as targeting employers who hire undocumented workers, and not just the laborers themselves.

Both of these initiatives make sense. For example, there's little gained in detaining or deporting undocumented people who are peacefully working and making a living while those out to commit a crime are on the loose.

Secretary Janet Napolitano reportedly also has her sights set on immigration detention-related policies. The department is reviewing its detention facilities, government and privately managed ones, to make sure they are operated as efficiently and effectively as possible.

Allowing DHS to streamline and sharpen its operations isn't just administratively wise; it is politically smart, too. Valid and justifiable congressional efforts to reform immigration laws failed earlier this decade, in large part because Americans lost confidence in the federal government's ability to handle existing laws and policies, let alone a new complex set of rules.

Washington has to make a convincing case that it is successfully enforcing laws and effectively conducting its operations in order to make a compelling sales pitch for immigration reform. If it does, Congress would be able to swing more support for reforms that are badly needed - particularly those that resolve the status of as many as 12 million undocumented people.

BOTTOM LINE: Focus on DHS operations for now.

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