Anyone who has had to deal with America’s immigration system knows what a crazy, confusing and, at times, cruel mess it is. It seems to operate on the assumption that it is its patriotic duty to harass anyone wishing to come to America. But President Obama is not the right man to fix it, I note in my latest Forbes column, because he doesn’t have the political muscle left in the wake of ObamaCare to slap down restrictionist ideas:
Even under the best of circumstances, immigration reform is a rancorous issue that arouses powerful nativist passions. Countering them requires a leader who can appeal to the better angels of Americans and show them how more-open immigration policies are not only consistent with their interests but also their deepest ideals of individual rights and liberties. But few believe that President Obama shares those ideals after his big government takeover of health care. And it is not clear that he even wants to make that case given that he has already strongly endorsed Graham-Schumer — without expressing any reservation about its national ID provision.
Read the whole thing here.