OTHERS SAY

The moment arrives

— The rapidly changing mood in Washington on immigration, particularly evident in the willingness of prominent Republicans like Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida to challenge die-hard opponents of reform within their own party, represents a significant milestone in the long fight to ensure fairness for everyone living within America’s borders.

Rarely has the power of the vote on a divisive national issue been so evident and so immediate. And so useful. The turnaround comes as a direct consequence of a quadrennial election in which President Barack Obama won a second term after capturing 71 percent of the Hispanic vote, forcing immigration opponents to confront reality.

As Sen. John McCain acknowledged recently, “We are losing dramatically the Hispanic vote, which we think should be ours.” Welcome to the future, sir.

Immigration advocates have been insisting all along that the issue is one of fairness, given that undocumented immigrants perform a vital service by taking low-wage jobs that keep the economy humming but which many Americans shun.

This week, the fairness argumentand the political argument finally came together as eight senators of both parties-including Rubio and McCain-offered a joint plan to reform immigration.

The willingness to work in a bipartisan fashion is encouraging. It’s the way Congress should work.

But even though the moment is ripe for change, this is far from a done deal. The tactic of endless hearings and procedural wrangling almost killed healthcare reform and will doubtlessly be tried again to kill an immigration overhaul.

Clearly, enforcement is important. No one wants a repetition of what occurred in the 1980s, when the last immigration overhaul led to a new tide of immigrants hoping to take advantage of relaxed laws.

In the weeks and months ahead, there will be opportunity to assess the proposals in Congress.

For the moment, it is important to note that the bipartisan ideas put forward a sweeping reform instead of the slower step-by-step approach that would have been far less effective. This alone is a victory for reform advocates.

Polls consistently reflect public support for reforming the nation’s immigration laws.

Congress, it’s time to move on it.

Editorial, Pages 16 on 01/31/2013

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