Immigration reform again

The following editorial appeared recently in The Miami Herald:

The Obama administration has sent an important signal that it remains committed to overhauling the nation's immigration laws, an issue that has lost none of its urgency since Congress and President George W. Bush tried and failed to enact substantial changes in 2007.

Many reform advocates had come to believe that President Barack Obama might be planning to duck immigration, out of a need to focus on rescuing the economy, reforming health insurance and dealing with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. This is as difficult an agenda as any first-year president has faced in decades.

Last week, however, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said effective overhaul legislation can't wait until everything else is out of the way.

She's right, but even without legislation, more could be done immediately to alleviate the pressure tens of thousands of Haitians with deportation orders now face. These are noncriminals who are unable to work while they wait for the U.S. government to figure out their fate. They must not be sent back to Haiti, still recovering from a series of devastating storms last summer.

There is a solution. Even without granting temporary protected status, the administration could make it easier for Haitians to get work permits.

Broader reform for the nation's estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants awaits. As Napolitano underlined, American workers will never be able to win the best terms for their labor as long as a significant part of the work force is illegal and some employers feel free to take advantage of the situation. Not knowing who is in this country also represents a security threat.

The administration, she said, has stepped up enforcement, greatly increasing the number of employers whose books are audited to ensure all workers have proper immigration status.

This is only one of several ways the executive branch has responded to critics of weak enforcement. In addition, the number of Border Patrol agents has doubled to more than 20,000 in a decade.

In 2008, Homeland Security made 791,568 immigration apprehensions, the decade's lowest number, indicating a reduced flow of undocumented individuals. At the same time, "removals," which includes deportations, increased from 188,467 in 2000 to 358,886 in 2008.

This is evidence of the beefed-up enforcement measures that immigration opponents demanded before they would consider reform. Now it's time to live up to their end of the bargain by agreeing to overhaul the immigration code.

The success of this fight will depend on how much muscle the White House puts behind its effort and how quickly it moves. Because Congressional elections are due next year, the window of opportunity for immigration reform is already nearing a close.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.