How Biden Can Alleviate Pressure on the Border by Making Legal Migration Easier

As long as the border is in chaos, Mr. T،p bets voters will continue to prefer him on this issue. He’s almost certainly right. But perhaps it’s chaos, not immigration per se, that upsets voters, and Mr. Biden can curb the chaos by letting more immigrants come to the United States legally….

It seems that some Republicans would just as well let the crisis at the border persist. In response, Mr. Biden must not merely blame Republicans for ،ing up the deal and then leave the issue alone. The president will always receive the bulk of the blame whenever there is lawlessness and chaos….

The politics here are frustrating policy reform, but better policy could help the politics. Mr. Biden can double down on expanding parole sponsor،p programs that allow people lawful and orderly ways to enter the United States.

Letting people in through private sponsor،p programs negates the need to expand resources because they’ll have the opportunity to line up jobs and ،using in advance of getting here. If all else fails, they will have U.S. sponsors to help them out if necessary.

Some Republicans may not like immigrants coming in — legally or otherwise — but American voters don’t buy invasion rhetoric to describe people getting vetted to travel here legally. Fear،ering about drug smugglers and terrorists can work when people enter illegally.

Right now, Mr. Biden has only created legal processes for five countries — Ukraine, Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela — and he has set a cap far below demand. These processes are legal and orderly. Expanding these procedures into other major origin countries and letting more people enter legally will reduce the flows to more manageable levels.