United States | Lexington

Joe Biden should admit Republicans are (partly) right about border security

The witless politics of polarisation is jeopardising support for legal immigration

An illustration of President Biden with brick walls either side of his head like blinkers on a racehorse
Image: KAL

If there were ever a good case for a centrist third party in American presidential elections—and right now there is not—the strongest reason would be the mass migration under way in the western hemisphere, which is prompting both major parties to take foolish and even inhumane positions. The surge in illegal crossings of the southern border is a complex problem. But having fed it through the polarisation machine, Democrats and Republicans have come up with simple, reciprocally stymying answers that defy not only compromise but common sense, too.

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This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “Getting over the wall”

From the October 14th 2023 edition

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