Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a sweeping illegal-immigration bill. It addresses smuggling, fake IDs, and more. But its centerpiece is E-Verify, an online tool that makes it hard for illegal aliens to get hired. House Republicans are also trying to pass a bill that includes an E-Verify mandate.
If you aren’t for E-Verify, you aren’t serious about controlling immigration. Building a wall can only get you so far in controlling illegal immigration. The same goes for hiring Border Patrol agents, prosecuting border-jumpers, and tightening asylum rules. All these measures are important—but if illegal aliens are home-free once they get past the border, then walls, moats, and alligators won’t stop them from trying. And if enough keep trying, many will succeed. After all, the border with Mexico is nearly 2,000 miles long, and while Border Patrol agents do admirable work, they aren’t supermen.
Unfortunately, for too many politicians on the right, even among those striking populist poses, the border is where their immigration hawkishness stops. . . .