Chicago Sun Times Editorial - Congress must keep moving on immigration legislation

Chicago Sun Times Editorial - Congress must keep moving on immigration legislation
Copyright by The Chicago Sun Times
November 29, 2006


At long last, immigration reform? It might not come as soon as the millions of immigrants in the United States, and their families and friends, would like. Meeting last week with the Sun-Times editorial board, Rep. Rahm Emanuel, an architect of the Democrats' surge to power, predicted the House would vote on a bill within a year. Boosting the minimum wage and expanding the State Children's Health Insurance Program to cover all children are higher up on the agenda.

But with the shift of power in Congress, the metaphorical wall blocking immigration reform only a short time ago is falling down, brick by brick. President Bush, who was unable to gain enough support from his party for his guest worker program, now can look forward to seeing one of his pet projects pushed through. New House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and new Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid are on board to support a legislative package that will provide a path to legality and citizenship for illegal immigrants while tightening border security -- a bill similar to the Kennedy-McCain compromise.

How tough the security measures will be remains to be seen. There's little chance they will include the 700-mile fence along the Mexican border authorized -- but not funded -- by Congress in September. Its costs are estimated at $4 billion to $8 billion. The immigration bill passed by the Senate last May did call for a 370-mile fence, in addition to the incremental hiring of 14,000 more Border Patrol agents by 2011. That fence, however, was a concession to the Republicans then controlling Congress. While concessions still will have to be made to conservatives in both parties before immigration reforms are passed, lawmakers who pledged to cut back on federal spending won't approve the expenditure of billions on a measure as questionable as a fence.

That Americans may have to wait many months before immigration legislation comes to a vote is surprising, considering how close Congress came earlier in the year to reaching an agreement -- and considering the heated emotions that have made illegal immigration such a hot-button issue. Chicago was one of many cities where immigrants and their allies held massive public demonstrations to demand reforms. Legal status isn't something that should be doled out without being earned, but studies, including one by the Chicago Council on Global Relations, show our economic growth is tied to our ability to integrate the rapidly rising number of Mexicans in our midst. It's a timely concern, in practical as well as humanitarian terms.

This represents the view of Sun-Times News Group newspapers in metropolitan Chicago.