“Root Causes” Are Easy. Solutions for Today Are Hard,

When Vice President Kamala Harris went to El Paso last week, she talked a lot about the need to address the “root causes” of illegal immigration

“My trip to Guatemala and Mexico was about addressing the root causes.  The stories that I heard and the interactions that we had today reinforce the nature of those root causes: a lack of economic opportunity; very often violence, corruption, and food insecurity; and basic needs not being met, including a fear of cartels and gang violence.”

Which sounds a lot like how Democrats talk about the increase in crime: We have to deal with the “root causes” of the problem.  And it may be that dealing with these root causes, whether of illegal immigration or crime, will address the problem – ten years from now.  But talking about root causes doesn’t tell you what we need to do to address the problem now.  

It’s easy to talk about root causes.  Your ideas might work, and if they don’t, few people will remember what you said, if you’re even still in office.  What’s hard is coming up with a solution that will address the problem today.  It might be nice what the Biden administration is going to do that will reduce illegal immigration ten years from now, but what we need to know is how they are going to reduce it tomorrow and next week.