Editorial Board

Republicans' New Immigration Agenda

Republicans should do themselves and the country a solid.

October 28, 2014 at 1:03 PM UTC

By The Editorial Board

The Editorial Board publishes the views of the editors across a range of national and global affairs.

Photos by Getty Images; Illustration by Bloomberg View

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It was January 2014, six months after the Senate had overwhelmingly passed immigration reform, when Speaker of the House John Boehner said, "It's time to deal with it." He never did. Come this January, when Boehner will in all likelihood have a stronger majority of his own and a Republican Senate to play with, he will have a chance to right this wrong.

It won't be easy. Momentum has shifted from the pro-immigrant camp of Senators John McCain of Arizona and Marco Rubio of Florida to the vitriolic corner of Representative Steve King of Iowa. Nativist fantasies have run wild in some Republican campaigns this fall. In such an environment, comprehensive immigration legislation is unlikely. Still, Republicans may be able to muster support for a couple of measures to ease the immigration mess.