Campaign in poetry, govern in prose

Former New York governor Mario Cuomo once famously said "campaign in poetry, govern in prose." This phrase has never been truer than Mr. Biden's actions on immigration thus far. It has been over a hundred days now since President Biden assumed power and as of this writing, his campaign promise of comprehensive immigration reform has not yet come into fruition. With both chambers of Congress under Democratic control, immigration advocates have become weary and puzzled why a universal immigration bill has not yet been passed. In fairness to him, President Biden has issued a series of executive orders that reversed and abandoned the former administration's oppressive policies, however, the urgency of the moment demands that he must assert the leverage of presidential prerogatives in order to push Congress in churning out the long-awaited immigration reform law. What we have seen so far is the fulfillment of the first part of the phrase --the campaigning in poetry. So far as what he has acted on, President Biden has delivered what he has campaigned for in so far as the limits of his office allow him to.

The second part proves to be the more challenging proposition. "Govern in prose." It is naiveté to disregard the reality that for Democrats to pass such a sweeping and historic law requires bipartisan support from the other side of the aisle. Republicans, or at least some moderate members of the party, must be on board in order to have a common ground on the intricacies and finer points of the bill. If Democrats have to learn from experience, Obamacare was passed without a cloak of bipartisan support and since its passage has always been legally challenged at every turn. So far it has survived and still remains law, but major parts of it have now been rescinded or overturned. Without bipartisan support, any immigration reform bill passed by a unilateral legislative action of one party will surely face an overwhelming cascade of lawsuits all the way up to the Supreme Court.

This is where the Democrats face a major dilemma. Is passing a wholesale immigration bill without Republican input worth the risk of losing other signature initiatives such as infrastructure and future stimulus proposals? Knowing the slim majority they have in the present Congress, would they risk losing the gavel at both chambers when the midterm elections in 2022 over this issue on immigration? On the other hand, what message would it convey to their supporters who are also die-hard immigration advocates if they cannot deliver even a single policy change such as legalization of Dreamers?

I suspect that political realities will seize the day. Any major and meaningful immigration overhaul will not be fully realized until after the mid-term elections and Democrats have gained a sizeable and comfortable majority in both the House of Representatives and in the Senate. For now, pro-immigration groups will have to contend with a piecemeal approach thrown their way, if they are fortunate enough to be given one.

The prospect of immigration reform will even be murkier and less attainable if and when Congress remains divided and the controlling party is different from the sitting president. The scenario could be play out either way as what we learned from past administrations whether that of Republicans or Democrats. It is just sad that a very important, significant, and humane issue such as immigration could not be resolved in a more pragmatic and less-politicized manner.