Immigration Wars: Forging an American Solution

From the former Republican governor of Florida and a leading constitutional litigator comes a timely and provocative look at one of the most divisive issues facing the nation today: immigration.

The immigration debate has challenged our nation since its founding. But today, it divides Americans more stridently than ever, due to a chronic failure of national leadership by both parties. Here at last is an attainable resolution guided by two core principles: first, immigration is vital to America’s future; second, any enduring resolution must adhere to the rule of law.

Unfortunately, current laws are so cumbersome and irrational that millions have circumvented them and entered the United States illegally, taxing our system to the breaking point. Jeb Bush and Clint Bolick contend there are other unique factors currently at play: America’s future population expansion will come solely from immigrants. And for the first time, the U.S. must compete with other countries for immigrant workers and their skills.

In the first book to offer a practical, nonpartisan approach, Bush and Bolick propose a compelling six-point strategy for reworking our policies that begins with erasing all existing, outdated immigration structures and starting over. From there, Immigration Wars details their plan for advancing the national goals that immigration policy is supposed to achieve: build a demand-driven immigration system; increase states’ autonomy based on varying needs; reduce the significant physical risks and financial costs imposed by illegal immigration; unite Mexico and America in their common war against drug cartels; and educate aspiring citizens in our nation’s founding principles and why they still matter.

Here too is a viable variation of the DREAM Act as a legal status for children brought here illegally, and sound strategies for the Republican Party to revitalize their ever-decreasing core constituency.

With Immigration Wars as a beacon of hope, Americans can finally solidify a national identity that is based on a set of ideals enriched and reinvigorated by immigrants, most of whom fervently embrace our core values—family, faith, hard work, education, and patriotism.

Jeb Bush is a former two-term governor of Florida and currently serves as president of Jeb Bush and Associates, a consulting firm that serves a wide array of businesses. Governor Bush is chairman of the Foundation for Excellence in Education, whose purpose is to promote meaningful K-12 reform in the United States. In addition, he is co-chairman of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy and is active in many civic and charitable causes. He resides in Miami with Columba, his wife of thirty-eight years.

Clint Bolick is vice president for litigation at the Goldwater Institute in Phoenix and is a research fellow with the Hoover Institution. One of the nation’s leading constitutional litigators, Bolick has won numerous landmark legal victories in state and federal courts from coast to coast. Bolick has been profiled twice in The New York Times and writes extensively for The Wall Street Journal and other publications.