President Bush Keeps the Faith on Trade, Immigration

There was much for libertarians and small-government conservatives to pick apart in President Bush’s State of the Union speech last night, but the president deserves hearty applause for his two passages on trade and immigration.

On trade, Bush urged Congress to approve pending agreements that would lower trade barriers between the United States and Colombia, Panama, and South Korea. He reminded Congress that the agreements would reduce barriers to U.S. exports and deepen our commercial and diplomatic ties to friendly nations and their 100 million citizens.

Those non-economic factors loom especially large in the Colombia agreement. As the president told Congress:

These agreements also promote America’s strategic interests. The first agreement that will come before you is with Colombia, a friend of America that is confronting violence and terror, and fighting drug traffickers. If we fail to pass this agreement, we will embolden the purveyors of false populism in our hemisphere. So we must come together, pass this agreement, and show our neighbors in the region that democracy leads to a better life.

The president even reminded Congress, albeit subtly, that the gains from trade are not just about exports when he said. “Trade brings better jobs and better choices and better prices.” Yes, it’s about time somebody in high office put in a good word for the consumer benefits of more robust import competition!

On immigration, President Bush stood on equally solid ground. He touted the beefed up border security under his administration, but then reminded Congress that enforcement without reform is not enough:

… we also need to acknowledge that we will never fully secure our border until we create a lawful way for foreign workers to come here and support our economy. This will take pressure off the border and allow law enforcement to concentrate on those who mean us harm.

We must also find a sensible and humane way to deal with people here illegally. Illegal immigration is complicated, but it can be resolved. And it must be resolved in a way that upholds both our laws and our highest ideals.

In 89 words, President Bush effectively summarized what I’ve been saying and writing all along about the right way to reform our broken immigration system and protect our security.