Border security

Border security is still one of the most divisive issues when it comes to the Senate’s debate on immigration reform, since it is linked to the legalization process.

No one is against border control. The issue is that the opponents of the reform are requiring such a high level of control that it borders on the impossible. At the same time, the expense of adding more technology and thousands of additional border guards–as Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) proposed through an amendment–is way too high for those lawmakers who stand tough on increasing the federal budget.

The other problem that may come up is changing the process set up in the Gang of Eight’s bipartisan agreement to declare the border secure and advance the legalization process for undocumented immigrants.

Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), a member of the gang, recently questioned the White House’s ability to make this declaration about the border. His unexpected words opened the door for Congress to play some role in that decision, which would derail the reform.

The key in upcoming weeks is for the bipartisan agreement to remain as intact as possible, like it happened at the Judiciary Committee. Surely, to win votes in the plenary, there will need to be some increase in border security compared with the bill that already passed.

What matters is differentiating the doable from the impossible, the good intentions of improving the overhaul from the strategy of poisoning it.

ImpreMedia/La Opinion