Immigration: Trump's actions will cost GOP dearly

Published January 31, 2024

The U.S. Senate is crafting another bipartisan deal requiring the president to (a) halt immigration except through entry points where we have some control, and (b) maximize deportations of questionable claimants whenever undocumented immigration exceeds 28,000 in any week. That would trigger immediately. In return, resources would be increased for processing asylum claims.

The U.S. House has other priorities. Speaker Mike Johnson has declared it “dead on arrival.”

The problem is politics. President Joe Biden will sign it. He is blamed for his own blunder, rearranging the welcome mat for millions seeking a better life — or who knows what. Former President Donald Trump urges his supporters in Congress to block any win for Biden. Never squander a campaign advantage.

It’s a classic struggle between two Walter Mitty characters yearning for relevance.

Before that, the Refugee Act of 1980 allowed up to 270,000 asylum seekers in any year. The 1965 Immigration Act preferentially capped annual immigration from the Western Hemisphere at 120,000. Enforcement has been overwhelmed.

The last major overhaul was the 1952 Immigration and Nationalization Act, spurred by Cold War fears of Soviet agents slipping in. Since then, notable measures have averaged one every quarter century.

Diligence for border protection faded during the administration of Republican President George W. Bush with congressional Democrats’ approval. President Barack Obama, with little or no statutory authority, then delayed deportation of young DACA “Dreamers,” which became a bargaining chip under Trump.

Trump offered a clever compromise with legal status and possible naturalization for Dreamers in exchange for his wall (since Mexico wouldn’t pay for it!) and enforcement of border control. It went nowhere. Republicans declined to embrace any likelihood of citizenship for millions of new Democratic voters, while Democrats declined to close the border to millions more. That’s when Trump lost interest in solving the problem.

We lost the best opportunity in the 21st century to solve our No. 1 domestic problem that has surged across our border. Each side insisted on “my way or the highway.” As a result, those highways are teaming with buses hauling immigrants from one beleaguered city to the next in cynical hopes of sharing the stealth. Criminal, syndicated caravans are hauling thousands per day across the highways of Central America.

North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis stood up against this foolishness. He’s right to chide his timorous colleagues that, “It is immoral for me to think you looked the other way because you think this is the linchpin for President Trump to win.” I hope our N.C. Republican Party won’t censure Tillis again. He’s on our side.

For one thing, he’ll deserve that his proposals for border security never get approved. Even if Republicans could win a Senate majority, it would ensure he’d never get 60 votes to stop a Democratic filibuster and pass a bill favored only by conservatives. His self-serving obstruction could likely cost re-election of many Republican House members in border states.

How then could he achieve anything except a legacy of chronic, inept failure to secure the borders? This is his own most important issue. He should read his own book, “The Art of the Deal,” and help restore border sovereignty right now.

Jim Martin, a Republican, was N.C. governor from 1985-93 and is a regular contributor to our pages.

Editor's note: This article first appeared in The Charlotte Observer, News and Observer, Durham Herald and other McClatchey newspapers, January 30, 2024.