Last week marked forty years since Ronald Reagan signed the Immigration Reform and Control Act on November 6, 1986. Most Americans under fifty have never heard of it. They should, because Washington is talking about doing it again. This time the talk is coming from the President.

On 60 Minutes Sunday night, President Trump said he would like to work with the incoming Democratic Congress on legal status for illegal aliens who have been here ten or fifteen years, people working in landscaping or hotels and in some cases paying taxes. He called a deal “actually doable.” He also said his deportation effort might be too tough. The next day he told reporters there would be no amnesty and that his policy hasn’t changed. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the same thing.

I take the President at his word that he does not want amnesty. He just named Stephen Miller his chief of staff, and that tells me where his instincts are. But I have to be honest about what he described on Sunday, because I have heard that pitch before. In 1986, the pitch was the hardworking immigrant who had put down roots and deserved a chance. Legalize those people, punish the employers who hired them, secure the border, and the problem goes away for good. Every member of Congress should look hard at how that deal turned out before signing on to round two.

I spent 24 years with ICE and retired........

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