Marietta Daily Journal
July 9, 2006

Isakson's triggers on target on immigration

To Americans of a certain age, the word "Trigger" immediately brings to mind cowboy star Roy Rogers' horse. But now the word "trigger" is on the verge of becoming synonymous with the immigration debate, and largely because of the low-key but effective work of U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.)

The senator has been pushing this spring and summer for an immigration reform bill centered on the idea that border enforcement must take place before any of the other components of the bill take effect. He garnered surprisingly strong support for an amendment to that effect, although not enough votes to ensure its inclusion in the final bill that passed the Senate. But with the Senate and House now at loggerheads, with the House utterly rejecting the Senate bill as too immigration-friendly and the Senate seeing the House bill as too restrictive, there are strong hints that both sides are starting to see Isakson's idea as a logical way out of the border-issue briar patch.

Isakson's idea is that the final bill would include "triggers," i.e., that various components of the guest-worker provisions of the bill for example, would not be activated, or triggered, until after corresponding border-security provisions have been certified as being in place.

The president's director of legislative affairs, Candi Wolff, said Wednesday that President Bush "thinks that this notion that you can have triggers is something we should take a close look at."

While many Republicans have been actively opposed to the president's attempts to craft a compromise on immigration that strengthens border security yet also sets up a viable guest worker program that meets the needs of business and industry, Isakson indicated he is encouraged by the president's new willingness to consider the "trigger" concept.

"Border security is the prerequisite for comprehensive immigration reform, and I'm pleased the president is willing to consider this approach," Isakson said.

Some senators, mostly Democrats but including a few Republicans as well, have tried to cast Isakson's security-driven approach to immigration reform as unworkable. Nonsense, Isakson said.

"There are some who say you can't secure the border or it can't be done or it's going to take too long. Listen, this country put a man on the moon in nine years. This country responded to the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11 within three weeks. This country can do anything it sets its mind to do and we know how to do it," he said last week. "In incremental places along the border, we have done it. It's now time to do it seamlessly across the 2,000-mile border. It's time we put in place the agents, the unmanned air vehicles in the air, sensors on the ground, the prosecuting officials along the border. Most importantly, we must make a commitment to ourselves and to the American people."

Immigration reform is an issue fraught with peril for the Republican Party, and more importantly, for the country. If the Republicans are unable to craft a sensible compromise this year that secures the border yet also sets up a sensible guest worker program that treats those guests with dignity, the party will be demagogued as anti-immigrant and anti-Latin, with the likely result being that the bulk of Hispanic voters ally themselves with the Democrats in future elections.

On the larger scale, it is in our country's vital interest to finally secure our southern border (and northern one too, for that matter) and stem the ever-increasing flow of illegals. What is needed is a dependable source of labor to augment our economy, but not a 1986-style blanket amnesty or an amnesty in the guise of a guest worker program like many on the left are seeking.

Sen. Isakson's concept of allowing security improvements to trigger guest worker changes is a workable proposal and the likeliest way out of the immigration reform maze, and deserves the full attention of lawmakers in Washington.