Mr. Biden may believe that liberal demands pushed Republicans to walk away in the past. Since he’s desperate for a deal, he’s not asking for any liberal priorities. The bill reportedly would provide more than $14 billion to detain and deport immigrants as well as restrictions on asylum that are more extreme than anything Mr. Trump requested from Congress during his term.
Mr. Biden had been prepared to give in to the G.O.P.’s demands in exchange for nothing. But the president’s strategy was doomed to fail.
It’s no surprise that before any actual text became public, Mr. Trump and his Republican allies in the Senate said they would oppose the bill. While Mr. Trump admitted that the proposal would, from his perspective, improve policy, he also said the party should reject anything but a “PERFECT” bill. Republican senators and the conservative Wall Street Journal editorial board seem to think that Mr. Trump believes an immigration deal would help President Biden win re-election.
The main G.O.P. complaint with the deal isn’t that it goes too easy on people crossing the border illegally, but that it doesn’t block enough legal migration. Using the parole authority granted by Congress, Mr. Biden has created processes for some immigrants to fly legally to the United States, and Republicans want him to put an end to that practice.
This poor excuse only reinforces the impression that Republicans are not aiming to reduce border chaos. The new processes that allow U.S. citizens to sponsor immigrants for entry are greatly reducing illegal immigration. Any effort to gut legal entry would cause even more problems for the Border Patrol.
It seems that some Republicans would just as well let the crisis at the border persist. In response, Mr. Biden must not merely blame Republicans for blowing up the deal and then leave the issue alone. The president will always receive the bulk of the blame whenever there is lawlessness and chaos — no matter how inadequate are the resources and laws provided by Congress.
The politics here are frustrating policy reform, but better policy could help the politics. Mr. Biden can double down on expanding parole sponsorship programs that allow people lawful and orderly ways to enter the United States.
Letting people in through private sponsorship programs negates the need to expand resources because they’ll have the opportunity to line up jobs and housing in advance of getting here. If all else fails, they will have U.S. sponsors to help them out if necessary.
Some Republicans may not like immigrants coming in — legally or otherwise — but American voters don’t buy invasion rhetoric to describe people getting vetted to travel here legally. Fearmongering about drug smugglers and terrorists can work when people enter illegally.
Right now, Mr. Biden has only created legal processes for five countries — Ukraine, Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela — and he has set a cap far below demand. These processes are legal and orderly. Expanding these procedures into other major origin countries and letting more people enter legally will reduce the flows to more manageable levels.
Without chaos to exploit, the Republican advantage on this issue will fall, making it less clear that it’s in the party’s interest to oppose any deal. Mr. Biden might feel that he has already won politically. But he should bet on policy, not politics, to neuter the apocalyptic border rhetoric. Allowing immigrants to arrive legally is his only chance to break out of a decade of failed immigration deals.
