Immigration: WWRD?

Peter Robinson, a former speech writer for Ronald Reagan, asks "What Would Reagan Do?" on immigration in the Wall Street Journal.  This is a silly question, because we already know what Reagan did, namely push for and sign the Immigration Reform and Control Act in 1986, then announce the problem was solved.  The amnesty part of the bill made good sense, and he deserves credit for that.  Yet he also supported provisions that let businesses off the hook and thereby created a massive black market for fraudulent documents.  The net effect of IRCA was just to punt and let future administrations try to deal with the issue.

Most of the article is pretty vapid.  Reagan loved people and would done good things.  Nonetheless, it is a reminder to those who consistently invoke Reagan that he was a strong advocate of immigration reform.