After a vacation, time comes for Congress to earn its keep

When Congress returns to Washington, D.C., from its Independence Day recess, its members owe it to America to do some serious work on the pressing issues of the day, which include immigration reform.
Instead, it appears that the Republican majority in the House plans to focus on a political strategy designed to distract the American people from issues congressmen are elected to address. They'll tout a "values agenda" that includes a gay marriage ban, abortion restrictions, and legislation preserving the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, among other items, rather than tackle real legislative challenges.
On immigration, the House seems intent on pursing an unrealistic hard-line that runs counter to the Senate immigration bill and to legislation supported by President Bush.
The immigration reform measure passed by the Senate would provide a way for many of the estimated 12 million foreigners living in the country illegally to become citizens. A House-approved bill would make illegal immigrants felons and build 700 miles of border walls. House and Senate negotiators so far have not been able to work out a compromise.
President Bush has said he wants to enforce the borders so fewer people sneak across but also provide a way for those already in the United States to become legal.
Looking for balance
"We're not going to be able to deport people who have been here, working hard and raising their families," Bush said the other day. "So I want to work with Congress to come up with a rational way forward."
Of course illegal immigrants do not belong in this country, or any other country. And ideally, anyone who sneaked into the country or overstayed a visa should be deported.
But realistically, millions of those illegal immigrants -- and they are not all from Mexico, despite the stereotype -- have become residents of long-standing. They have jobs. They have families. They've bought homes and are running businesses.
"Throw 'em all out" stopped being responsible federal policy or a doable strategy a long time ago.
A nation that has been identified for more than a century with the words "give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free" can't start separating millions of parents from their children, shuttering businesses and holding sheriff's auctions on homes left empty by deportees.
There has to be a better way, a way that balances the national interest with the practical reality of addressing the immigration problem.
And that, among other things, is the job of Congress. The last thing the nation needs is more holier-than-thou posturing. Let's hope the majority in Congress comes to realize that, or, if they don't, that the American voters hold to account those who would insult their intelligence with slogans over action.