EDITORIAL: Immigration ‘reform’ by fiat would guarantee 2 years of gridlock

OPINION:

Loretta Lynch, President Obama’s nominee to replace Eric Holder Jr. as attorney general, has her work cut out for her. Going into confirmation hearings, the No. 1 issue for Republicans will be whether she’s on board with the White House schemes to bypass Congress and implement amnesty by executive fiat.

Now that the midterm elections are out of the way, Mr. Obama may be feeling “more flexible.” Or, more likely, he still wants to go it alone, and by the time voters can do anything about it, he’ll be in the rough on a golf course in Hawaii, and for good.

The notion of immigration “reform” by the president’s executive orders triggers a storm of angry metaphors. Senate Majority Leader-to-be Mitch McConnell says doing it that way “poisons the well.” Says House Speaker John A. Boehner: “He’s going to burn himself.” Reince Priebus, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, says doing it the president’s way would be “throwing a barrel of kerosene on a fire.” Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming likens the idea to “pulling the pin out of a hand grenade and throwing it.” (Once the pin is out, “throwing it” is definitely a good idea.)

In his first week in office, Mr. Obama famously took charge in a meeting with congressional leaders, barreling over their objections to his trillion-dollar stimulus package with the matter-of-fact boast, “I won.” Indeed he did, but that was then.

Hearing without listening, the president repeated his threat to go it alone Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” daring Republicans to pre-empt him by passing their immigration bill. “I prefer to see it done through Congress.”

“So, John,” he told Mr. Boehner, “I’m going to give you some time, but if you can’t get it done before the end of the year, I’m going to have to take the steps that I can to improve the system.”

The year’s-end deadline, as he well knows, is preposterous, because Harry Reid is in charge of the Senate until January, when nine new Republicans will take their seats. No legislation ever gets through Mr. Reid’s blockade, save for the end-of-the-year pork.

The House Judiciary Committee has put forward four immigration bills that would strengthen interior enforcement; implement an “instant check”-style employment-eligibility verification system; increase the number of H-1B visas to invite highly skilled foreign workers to the United States; and streamlining the process for farmers to hire agricultural “guest workers.”

None of these proposals advance Mr. Obama’s goal of granting amnesty to 11 million illegal aliens that he’s counting on to become permanent Democratic voters. “I’ve got to make this city work better for them,” he says of the American people who “see Washington gridlocked.”

Immigration “reform” by fiat, as the Republicans have warned, would shatter the possibility of compromise and guarantee that his last two years in office remain mired in gridlock. The first test of whether Democrats have accepted the new reality will be whether Mr. Reid attempts to ram through the confirmation of Mrs. Lynch with the votes of defeated Democratic senators, or allows the new Senate to give her the full and fair hearing that she deserves in January.

Mr. Obama’s policies, as he says — “every one of them” — were on the ballot, and were rejected with “a thumpin’,” or “a shellacking,” choose your metaphor. Republicans have a responsibility to step up and take charge by reminding Mr. Obama, “Mr. President, you lost.”