Now that the nation’s preoccupation with the Syria affair seems to be dwindling, it’s time to focus on solving our issues here at home, and there is no better place to start than immigration reform.

Congress must come together to fix our broken immigration system and provide immigrants who entered the country illegally with a pathway to citizenship.

Last week, a press conference organized by the Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute featured a bipartisan coalition of members from the U.S. House of Representatives urging Congress to pick up the issue rather than push it aside.

It’s encouraging to see that at least some members of Congress recognize the need for immigration reform, but it’s even better to see both Democrats and Republicans working together for the common good.

In June, the U.S. Senate passed its version of a comprehensive immigration reform bill, which would provide a 13-year pathway to citizenship for immigrants illegally living in the United States. The proposal would also provide more funding for security at the U.S.-Mexico border.

The House has not yet taken up the Senate bill.

Enacting the Senate’s plan is vital, not only for establishing a means of obtaining citizenship for the immigrants already here, but it would also have enormous economic benefits.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that billions would be cut from the federal budget deficit if comprehensive reforms were enacted.
It’s a tough sell to a Republican Party determined to have immigrants deported back to their homelands, but it just might work.

If Democrats have any hope of passing this legislation, they must pull a page from President Bill Clinton’s handbook and frame the issue as purely an economic one.

After all, “it’s the economy, stupid.”

Republicans love to throw the slow pace of economic recovery in the president and Democratic Party’s collective faces, but what if the tables were turned for once?

What, Republicans don’t want immigrants that are here illegally to become good citizens who pay their share in taxes and boost our overall economic health? They’d rather spend an innumerable amount of federal money to deport these people instead?

Imagine how fast the party of “fiscal responsibility” would change its tune if Democrats had the moxie to throw right wing-talking points back in Republicans’ faces.

Wouldn’t it be amazing for America to live up to its reputation as the great melting pot where anyone has the opportunity to get ahead?
For generations, we welcomed immigrants with open arms and embraced their potential to make our country greater.

But now, it is not so. We’ve thrown up fences and made immigrating here a difficult process. We welcome immigrants, but only those who have gone through our complex system.

It’s time to ask ourselves how much red tape is enough.

Immigrants did not come here without price — they’ve taken enormous risks by leaving everything they know to take advantage of everything America has to offer. They want a better life, and they want it here.

Throughout our history, we’ve been pushed to new levels of greatness by the dreamers, risk-takers and innovators. It’s time we honor that tradition by reforming our immigration system and providing immigrants with a path to citizenship.

Economic benefits and politics aside, when we dig down deep into our own humanity, we’ll find it’s simply the right thing to do.
Let us embrace the risks these people have taken by welcoming them into our fold.

David Swenton is a senior political science and writing and rhetoric major. His column appears weekly. He can be reached at daswento@syr.edu or followed on Twitter at @DavidSwenton.

Published on September 18, 2013 at 1:38 am