The challenge of immigration reform

In negotiating immigration reform, President Bush should consider the young people taking to Seattle's streets today.

They are expected to march from Westlake Park to the Federal Building to highlight the impact of recent immigration crackdowns on children and families.

Many immigration advocates are concerned the president, who has been a reform advocate since he was governor of Texas, is veering too far right in his push for a compromise between expulsion of the 12 million people here illegally and amnesty.

Bush wants a bill he can sign this summer. The challenge, however, is in delivering enough votes, especially in the House, where sentiment for an easy transition to citizenship is less friendly to illegal immigrants.

Under the president's working plan, he would permit workers in the United States illegally to gain legal status after paying a $3,500 fee to obtain a special three-year visa, which could be renewed for the same fee. But if they want to become citizens, they would have to return to their native country and wait in line.

People who have broken the law should expect to pay a penalty to make things right — that's reasonable. But it is unreasonable — and impractical — to make these people return to their country, leaving their families, including their American-born children, their jobs and the homes many of them own. They should get in line behind people who have followed the rules, but they can do so in the United States.

In a speech in Yuma, Ariz., Monday, Bush noted the United States' increased enforcement at the border had reduced the number of illegal crossings by a third in the past year. U.S. Border Patrol agents number 13,000 — up from 9,000 in 2001. By the close of 2008, they will be 18,000 strong.

Secure borders are critical, but the crackdown has caused other problems, including worker shortages in some sectors. The Washington Farm Bureau estimates the state will be about 25 percent short of the total workers needed to bring this year's harvest in.

A guest-worker program that provides a supply of legal workers must be part of the solution — something Bush supports.

President Bush must push harder for a compromise that is more compassionate but still requires lawbreakers to step up as well. The situation now is untenable.