Time to take action on immigration

My reading habits are, to say the least, diverse. That's simply the nature of this profession. We gather news, we deliver news, sometimes we try to interpret news, sometimes we tell you what happened and sometimes we tell you what is about to happen. Beyond that, we in the media try to reflect the communities we serve in the most honest, accurate fashion possible. Noble goal but not always achievable.

First, I was reading a report concerning the ongoing question of illegal immigration, which is obviously a hot topic these days. Four border state governors - Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and California - signed a letter Friday urging Congress to act on immigration reform legislation before year's end.

Currently, Congress is holding a series of "hearings" on the hot potato issue but it's doubtful that anything meaningful will happen until after the November elections at best.

At the same time, I am reading a fascinating column on the changes within the newspaper industry. And one brief sentence within that column struck me as so accurate it applies not just to newspapers but perhaps to our federal government as well. Here's what the column said:

"The world is being remade by people who don't form committees that meet for six months to avoid making mistakes." The basic thrust of the article was that the newspaper industry is changing so rapidly we no longer have the "luxury" to study a topic to death. We either act rapidly or we stand on the sidelines.

Well the same can be said, I believe, about Congress. Nothing can compare with the bureaucracy that envelopes Washington, D.C. We have sub-groups of sub-committees who use focus groups to determine the best course of action to recommend to the full committee, etc. Lost in that process is that what is needed the most - ACTION.

As a nation we should pay close attention to the governors of these border states. They are a mix of Democrat and Republicans so the issue is not based in partisanship. They are on the front line of this growing concern over illegal immigration. What they are seeing today, the remainder of the nation may well see tomorrow.

When the November elections roll around we need to ask ourselves what candidate is willing to take action on the issue of illegal immigration. And just as important perhaps, we need to ask when they are willing to take that action. Words alone will not reverse the growing explosion of illegal immigration. It will take action, even if that means mistakes.