Republicans need to stop talking about immigration reform and start doing it

If you were to Google “immigration” news, it remains a significant and controversial topic.

In fact, just last week the president clarified just how much he hopes to unilaterally reform immigration:

“My administration is going to reform the L-1B visa category . . . and this could benefit hundreds of thousands of nonimmigrant workers and their employers,” Obama said at a gathering of international businesses at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Md., last week. “[This action] will benefit our entire economy and spur additional investment.”

Translation: this reform is going to attract even more immigrants to the United States.

While I am sure the president’s objective is to make the immigration system more transparent and bring additional clarity, the reality is that his unilateral executive actions are of greater concern to our Constitution and our republic. Not to mention the source of political power for unions and, likely, the Democratic Party: “Welcome to the house of labor!”

That’s why I am a bit befuddled of the amount of inaction that is being done by Republicans both at the state and federal level on this issue.

The New York Times lambasted Republicans in their editorial today:

“Those die-hard opponents fail to remember that laws and policies that deny rights and push exclusion are the cause of America’s shame and regret throughout its history. Integration and assimilation are the core values of a country that is in danger of forgetting itself.”

Fair enough and no surprise coming from the “Gray ‘liberal’ Lady.” But the rule of law and increasing our border security are pretty important steps too. As also was a state law to clarify in-state tuition benefits for students who have Temporary Protected Status or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).

Yet the Republican-led Congress has done precious little. And neither has the Republican-led House of Delegates. Even the commonsense tuition bill found itself stuck to die in committee.

While Rep. Bob Goodlatte, chair of the judiciary committee, called for a “step-by-step” approach to immigration reform in 2013, can anyone really name any reforms enacted by Congress or the General Assembly?

“We must embrace and champion comprehensive immigration reform. If we do not, our Party’s appeal will continue to shrink to its core constituencies only. We also believe that comprehensive immigration reform is consistent with Republican economic policies that promote job growth and opportunity for all.”

That was RNC Chairman Reince Priebus in 2013. And he’s right. But are we actually doing anything?

And here we are in 2015 with a border still porous with an estimated two thousand children entering this nation illegally per month. No clue as to what to do about the more than 12 million people working, living, studying and contributing to our society. And an imperial president.

So, it’s growing tiresome to keep receiving mass emails from congressmen and presidential aspirants railing about “amnesty” or to see Nativists, who at best trace their lineage to Great Britain, point their hypocritical fingers at any political figure who so much as considers immigration reform – done the right way through the legislative branch.

I’m also sick of seeing our economy damaged by a deranged immigration policy.

I wrote about it last year as an imperative (post-Cantor) and it’s only getting worse. It’s time to advocate for rational and reasoned immigration policies and for it to be done smartly to benefit our economy, national security, and, if you’re a conservative Republican, the future of the party.