Immigration Reform Is Just Too Hard for Congress

Everybody says the system is broken, but nobody has figured out how to fix it.

A child whose father was deported, holds US flags during a protest in response to US President Barack Obama's delay on immigration reform in front of the White House in Washington, DC, September 8, 2014.

SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images
Lock
This article is for subscribers only.

Not long ago, rewriting U.S. immigration policies was such a popular cause that business owners and labor organizers were co-signing pleading letters to Congress. Small-town sheriffs and pastors were flying to Washington to meet with lawmakers, while Silicon Valley techies hosted tweet-ups to press for action.

And that may be the primary reason big legislation stalled in the U.S. House last year. With everyone trying to squeeze into one bill, it was easy for anyone to find something to hate about it. President Barack Obama on Thursday will announce executive actions that accomplish a few of the pro-reformers' goals, including a reprieve for the undocumented parents of children born in the U.S. and an expansion of permits for high-skilled foreign workers. Many other interested parties are left out: There's nothing to help small-business owners or farmers, for example. And now, even the guy who says he came up with the term “comprehensive immigration reform” admits defeat.