A Reminder from Brad Swanson in the Nation: “What We Can Learn About Immigration From an Unlikely Source: Ronald Reagan”

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Brad Swanson in The Nation reminds us that immigration is not necessarily a Democratic/Republican issue:

“The number of illegal aliens in America had risen to an alarming level, and the Republican president in the White House was determined to take strong action. But rather than deporting millions of migrants, this Republican president opted for the opposite strategy:  legalizing them.

Ronald Reagan is not known for his compassion toward the less fortunate. . . . Overall, Reagan cut federal spending for lower-income programs other than housing by almost one-third. But even Reagan rejected the pointless cruelty and economic disruption of a campaign to deport 5 million people who lacked legal status but were simply trying to support themselves and their families. `I believe in the idea of amnesty for those who have put down roots and lived here, even though sometime back they may have entered illegally,’ he said in 1984.”

With Reagan’s support, Congress passed the bipartisan Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, which created the largest immigration legalization program in U.S. history.

KJ