Buying Time on Immigration

On many questions, President Obama’s approach is full speed ahead. On immigration reform, he prefers to take things one step at a time. There really is no alternative.

Immigration is politically vexing because it splits both parties and scrambles the usual ideological alignments. There is no clear majority on this issue. Roughly a third of Americans strongly favor granting illegal immigrants a way to become citizens, while another third is strongly opposed. An ambivalent middle knows the status quo is unsustainable and wants a comprehensive solution, yet is also upset about the government’s failure to stop illegal immigration. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/03/AR2009050301848.html?hpid=opinionsbox1By E.J. Dionne Jr. — Washington Post Op-Ed