A Rare Opening for Immigration Compromise

All of this addresses longstanding problems that are getting worse. The more than 2.4 million illegal crossings in fiscal 2022 broke the record set in 2021. One cause of the surge is lax asylum law and the asylum backlog, which lets some migrants stay in the U.S. for years before claims are heard. Both Title 42 and DACA, the policy that shields Dreamers from removal, have been weakened by recent court rulings and need Congressional backing.

No surprise that the usual suspects have emerged to oppose the deal. Former Trump adviser

Stephen Miller

tweeted Monday that a Dreamer path to citizenship would “turn the present tsunami of minor-smuggling into a biblical flood.” No, it would provide security for migrants who broke no laws when they came as children and are now in legal limbo as adults. On the left, migrant advocacy groups scorn the prospect of more rapid deportation for any asylum claimants.

But has the current immigration gridlock helped anyone other than these political extremes? It doesn’t help border security, as migrants stream across unchecked. And it doesn’t show the American public that the federal government can solve the problem.

Voters know better. A Hart Research poll of swing-state voters in November found 74% support for legal status for Dreamers. President Trump floated several plans to legalize Dreamers’ status in 2018 and gained support from a majority of Senate Republicans.

Ditto for enforcement. Rasmussen reports that 58% of midterm voters said the government is doing too little to deter illegal crossings. That explains why several Senate Democrats, including Ms. Sinema, proposed a plan to extend Title 42 when Mr. Biden moved to cancel it in May.

We haven’t seen all the details of the compromise, and the bill would be better with a few additions. Ms. Sinema has previously called for a reform of asylum law to make clear that the status is reserved for migrants fleeing violence or political instability, rather than the millions coming for economic reasons. Mr. Tillis wants to increase the number of temporary guest workers, which would help employers cope with the U.S. labor shortage and ease illegal crossings as migrants would be able to come and go legally.

But after so much political stalemate and failure, even a small bill would be progress and build public confidence that Washington can address the growing migrant mess. The compromise’s sponsors believe it could gain the 60 votes to pass the Senate, and both parties can help the country by seizing the moment.