Arizona law is signal to Congress

During his campaign to win Iowa's 2008 precinct caucuses, President Obama talked often of the need for immigration reform.

He often told Iowa audiences about the need for enhanced border security measures, stiffer penalties for businesses that employ illegal immigrants, tamper-proof ID cards for all legal workers and a 10-to-13-year process for illegal workers to gain citizenship after paying a fine and learning to speak English.

“This is a reasonable approach,” he said in Newton on June 18, 2007.

Unfortunately, since he was elected, immigration reform has remained little more than a talking point. That's disappointing, especially here in Iowa, where shock waves from the massive 2008 federal immigration raid in Postville continue to resonate.

Now, Arizona leaders, frustrated by federal inaction, have approved a state immigration enforcement law, sparking a nationwide debate. Flawed or not, the Arizona statute's emergence has, at least and at last, reawakened Washington to a large and important national issue that has not gone away.

Immigration is back on the agenda, but its future is shaky.

Democrats who run Congress unveiled a framework for reform shortly after Arizona's law was signed. But Republicans saw the effort as an election-year gesture to Latino voters riled by Arizona's law, and they say they're not interested.

Obama conceded that Congress may not have “an appetite” for the issue, but then told a White House audience this week, on Cinco de Mayo, that the House and Senate need to begin work on reform, now.

We understand Congress has a lot on its plate, and that an election looms, but it would be a mistake to let this moment slip away. We saw that happen in the aftermath of Postville and don't want to see inertia win out again.

It's a tough issue, to be sure. But there is much agreement on broad concepts. Americans want a secure boarder, and they want businesses that knowingly hire illegal immigrants, or don't take steps to check workers' status, to be punished.

But there is also a desire to help businesses. And polls consistently show that Americans are willing to consider a difficult but fair process for allowing illegal immigrants who have been in the United States for years to apply for legal status or citizenship.

Most of us understand that it's not feasible to deport 8 million to 10 million illegal immigrants And we know that some segments of the economy depend on these workers.

If the federal government fails in its responsibility, more states, maybe even Iowa, will be pushed to pass local laws. Such a confusing patchwork of immigration laws will make reform even more divisive and difficult.

It's time for the federal government to fulfill its constitutional obligations and fix the system.