How to Make Progress in the Immigration Debate

Immigration reform has not been on Washington’s agenda lately, but that may change soon: The final version of the Democrats’ $3.5 trillion budget proposal, released last week, is widely expected to offer a path to citizenship for millions of undocumented workers. That means the debate about immigration reform may also soon return, along with zealotry on both sides.

The debate over immigration is so difficult because it twists together at least two distinct and challenging subjects: economics and culture. On the economics at least, there should be no further debate: Immigration is a net gain. The cultural arguments against immigration are harder to counter, but addressing some of the economic anxieties could help ease some of the cultural ones.