No closer to immigration reform

President Barack Obama talked a good game on immigration Tuesday. In full campaign mode, he delivered a rousing speech in favor of sweeping reform. But he's done that before.

Reaffirming his good intentions was a transparent bid to placate Hispanic voters disappointed by his failure so far to win reforms he promised just as rousingly in his last campaign. He needs to deliver.

Unfortunately, that's not likely to happen anytime soon. Not with a Republican majority in the House of Representatives and a lot of voters focused on border security and adamantly opposed to legalization for the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the country.

But Obama has made a start toward building the consensus he needs for reform by strengthening border security and enforcement. The number of agents policing the southwest border has been doubled since 2004. A virtual fence is all but complete -- something many Hispanics don't much like -- and unmanned aircraft are on patrol.

His administration has also aggressively pursued deportations. Mistakenly, that includes sending Haitians back to their earthquake- and cholera-ravaged homeland, a cruel concession to immigration politics that Obama should abandon.

Comprehensive reform is at least an election or two away. The winner of the White House in 2012 will need a mandate and the will to drive it through Congress. A new, effective immigration system is essential but not yet on the horizon. hN