Tim Walz’s overture on Texas border crisis a welcome olive branch

What Gov. Greg Abbott didn’t say about immigration in a recent CNN interview speaks volumes about why the nation has not had serious immigration reform in decades.

Tim Walz, the Minnesota governor and presumptive Democratic vice presidential nominee, recently conceded that there is a border crisis and Democrats need to acknowledge it, something this editorial board has urged Democrats to do.

“When they’re asked if it’s a crisis, you need to answer, ‘Yes, it’s a crisis.’ And then deal with it,” Walz said in an interview on the Ezra Klein Show, days before he became Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate.

It’s important for leading Democrats to get serious about acknowledging what Walz did in plain language. Conservatives are fairly skeptical about the left’s willingness to engage in strong border enforcement, but Walz didn’t mince words.

“Leaving it and saying it’s not a problem is a political detriment to Democrats,” he said. “Just acknowledge it is. You’re not denigrating anyone, and you’re not helping them — being the immigrants — by saying it’s not a problem. Because they know better than anybody it’s a problem. Because they’re stuck at a border community with nowhere to go.”

Abbott’s decision to bus migrants out of Texas to deep blue cities got near universal condemnation from the left. The reality was that it demonstrated states like Texas cannot and should not be forced to bear the burden of an unmanaged border. And it helped wake up the country to the problems at the border.

Walz characterized Abbott’s busing program as cruel and inhumane. That’s unhelpful. The governor was fairly criticized in 2022 for dropping off more than 100 migrants near the Naval Observatory in below-freezing temperatures without coordinating with local groups. But Texas has bused more than 100,000 people without incident, and many have expressed gratitude for the free trips.

Walz did concede that the action “suggests the problem in Texas is pretty bad.”

That’s a start at least on getting real about how difficult mass migration has been on Texas and especially on border towns and cities.

Walz importantly said that he would support the bipartisan Sinema-Lankford immigration reform bill that we think balances serious enforcement with humane processing of asylum applications.

When Abbott was asked on CNN whether he would work with a potential Harris-Walz administration on border security, he rightly pointed out key policy differences. That’s fair. But it’s unfortunate he stopped short of saying that he would engage with Democrats in Washington who are ready to look at solutions.

That is what most Americans find so frustrating about the immigration debate. Abbott might harbor frustration with federal inaction, but he must also signal a willingness to work with anyone who is willing to bring forward some answers.

We get that it is difficult for a Republican to promise to work with a Democrat or vice versa in this highly polarized environment, especially when presented with a hypothetical question. Nonetheless, Walz’s gesture is welcome, and we wish Abbott would have acknowledged it.

It used to be common to hear a politician say, “I’ll work with anyone who wants to work with me.” Now, somehow, that’s political poison.

It is true that, for months, Harris and President Joe Biden wrongly insisted that the border was secure even as tens of thousands or more crossed it illegally. Only after the border crisis became undeniable did the Biden-Harris administration belatedly enact an executive order to reduce illegal migration and back the bipartisan border security package.

GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump foolishly helped kill that measure earlier this year to preserve a campaign issue. Harris has promised to resubmit the measure if elected.

Americans want and deserve border and immigration solutions. We are tired of years of unproductive cynicism. Border issues are solvable but require leadership, outreach and compromise to not make perfection the enemy of progress, beginning with Democrats and Republicans, regardless of whether they are in the White House, Congress or state capitols.

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