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January 13, 2025 
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There's a bakery in downtown Houston that makes beef pho kolaches. Pho is Vietnamese soup; kolaches are Czech pastries. The combination is more American than bald eagles.
The United States is obviously failing to regulate immigration. Over the past four years, some eight million people settled in this country, and most of them did so unlawfully. As the editorial board wrote on Friday, there is no doubt that the federal government needs to act urgently to establish control over who is able to live and work in the United States.
But Donald Trump, the president-elect, is wrong to argue that many immigrants already living in the country should be deported, and that future immigration should be reduced.
America actually needs more immigrants. For one thing, Americans are making fewer babies. Moreover, as the editorial board writes, "immigrants are America's rocket fuel, powering our nation's unsurpassed economic and cultural achievements. The famous poem inscribed on the Statue of Liberty mischaracterizes those who leave their home countries behind. They are not the tired and the poor; they are people possessed of the determination, skill and resources to seek a better life. Nobel Prizes have been awarded to 142 immigrants to the United States. Nearly half of the companies in the Fortune 500 were founded by immigrants or their children. Blue jeans, Tesla, basketball, 'God Bless America' — all the work of immigrants."
In Houston, perhaps the big city most transformed by the current wave of immigration, eating is one of the best ways to experience the benefits. On a trip there last year, I enjoyed some faithful renditions of immigrant cuisines, but what I enjoyed most were the mash-ups: Ramen burgers, pecan mole, brisket tikka masala. (Sadly, I didn't get to try the beef pho kolaches. Something to look forward to the next time I'm there.)
How do we create an immigration system that serves the nation's interests — that allows us enjoy the benefits of immigration while minimizing the costs and chaos?
Three big shifts in federal policy are required, and all three necessary for any to succeed.
Read about all of them in the full editorial here.
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 | | Illustration by Chantal Jahchan |
The Editorial Board A Big Idea to Solve America's Immigration MessFixing America's broken immigration system starts with acknowledging that the United States needs more people. By The Editorial Board |
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