Bordering on paralysis

THE PROSPECTS FOR SENSIBLE immigration reform in Washington have never been bleaker, judging by this week’s deliberations in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Yet another proposed immigration bill was floated, this one by Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), and roundly derided by his colleagues.

This exercise is a waste of time. President Bush has been talking about the need to overhaul immigration laws since he took office five years ago, and a perfectly sound bill sponsored by Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) is already on the table. Their proposal, unlike legislation that passed in the House of Representatives, recognizes that illegal immigration is primarily an economic issue. The U.S. economy needs hundreds of thousands of foreign workers a year, but they are not granted visas.

The McCain-Kennedy legislation would issue a realistic number of guest-worker visas each year, tighten workplace and border enforcement and create a way for those now here illegally to legalize their status and aspire to citizenship after paying a sanction. The House wants to “secure the borders” without simultaneously addressing the legitimate needs of the U.S. economy. And it seems increasingly clear, judging by the comments of Specter’s colleagues at Thursday’s hearing, that many senators want to do the same, staking out a politically safe tough-on-immigrants posture in an election year. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) said senators “shouldn’t do anything until we secure the border.” That’s a nice sound bite, but one devoid of any logic. An important part of securing the border is to address the needs of the U.S. economy. Otherwise, no amount of vigilantes or barbed wire will solve the problem.

Specter’s bill does at least include a guest-worker program, but it is flawed in comparison with the McCain-Kennedy approach. His proposal does not include a cap on the number of visas, and it would not allow workers in the program ever to be eligible for citizenship. Its requirement that workers leave the country after six years -- even if they were still needed -- is too inflexible.

The McCain-Kennedy bill most mirrors Bush’s oft-repeated principles on immigration, but the president has failed to lead, always shying away from taking sides in the tug of war between various congressional proposals. He even commended the House for passing a bill that failed to include what he has been demanding since he took office: some type of temporary-worker program. Yet Bush is now so politically weak that his timidity may no longer matter -- which is why the Senate’s failure to do anything useful on immigration is all the more disappointing.