Buckley Takes a Measured View of Immigration

A "two-handed" William F. Buckley looks at immigration in an opinion piece for Yahoo News. Given that it is the product of a infamous serial polemicist, the article is very balanced. Bill's concluding two paragraphs contain the kernel of his argument:

The gnawing point for skeptics is the matter of realizing immigration laws. The current measure speaks of additional fencing to bolster those leaky barriers of past decades. But skeptics are entitled to wonder just when the dividing barriers would be made effective enough to freeze the flow of immigrants at the desired level.

Our lawmakers should understand the public skepticism. Theirs has been the responsibility in default. If Congress had begun reforms by stabilizing the Mexican border, it might more credibly have gone on to elaborate residually desirable changes in the mess Congress has permitted.