Immigration debate intensifies — at border and in Congress

WASHINGTON – The long-raging debate over fixing the nation's dysfunctional immigration system flared back to life this week, with Republicans seeking political advantage from a surge of children at the southwestern border as Democrats press forward with legislation that could create a path to citizenship for millions, including young Dreamers.

Although both sides agree that the current immigration system works poorly, efforts at reform have stalled for two decades.

The voters for whom the issue is a top priority tend to be strongly partisan, giving elected officials little political incentive to appeal to the other side. Although polls have shown the country as a whole growing more liberal on immigration issues during the Trump years, Republicans have moved toward increasingly hard-line positions, undercutting possibilities for legislative compromise.

For the Biden administration, the increased number of young migrants at the border — now running at several hundred arriving each day —