The issue: Any reasonable immigration policy would not concentrate just on getting rid of the people we don’t want, like criminals, but also on keeping those we do want

The Department of Homeland Security has proposed some common-sense changes to U.S. deportation policy and it has kicked up a predictable storm of protest from conservatives who believe any change in that inefficient process puts on the slippery slope to a Reagan-style amnesty.

OUR EARLY MISSTEPS in trying to discourage illegal immigration showed that, yes, it was possible to round up illegal immigrants by the thousands, but we soon ran out of places to put them, judges and enforcement officers to review their cases and the money to pay for all this.

During his campaign, President Barack Obama pledged to start deporting “the worst of the worst.” That was a relatively easy benchmark. But with 300,000 people contesting or awaiting deportation, matters became more complicated.

Now, DHS has settled on a variant of that policy that might be called “the worst first.” Immigration officials will concentrate first on deporting those illegal immigrants who are convicted criminals or credibly pose a threat to public safety or national security.

The others, in the meantime, will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and if there is no pressing reason to expel them, they will be allowed to stay, pending final resolution of their deportation order.

They will even be allowed to apply for a work permit, also on a case-by-basis, and legally hold a job. If they’re going to be here anyway, they might as well be doing something useful and paying taxes.

IN JUNE, Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued guidelines to its agents on the discretion available to them on whom to round up. The guidelines mimic the Dream Act, which should have passed but didn’t, that would give immigrants brought here as children who attend college or serve in the military an opportunity for legal status.

Any reasonable immigration policy would not concentrate just on getting rid of the people we don’t want, like criminals, but also on keeping those we do want, those who are willing to serve in the military or study for a needed specialty.

The officers also were told not to overcrowd the jails with illegals who have no criminal record, have lived in the United States a long time or have an American spouse or children.

Opposition was quick in coming. Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, wrote, “The Obama administration should enforce immigration laws, not look for ways to ignore them. The Obama administration should not pick and choose which laws to enforce.”

ALL LAW ENFORCEMENT entails a certain amount of discretion. Even in Smith’s hometown of San Antonio, the police don’t make busted tail light arrests when someone is busting into a jewelry store nearby.

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