Secure the borders.

That has been the mantra of politicians in all parties for several years now, though not one cogent case has been made for how to secure the borders, and not one plausible excuse has been offered about why nothing’s being done about it. Meanwhile, the heated immigration debate swirls again, and it’s nearly all politics.

Columnist Peggy Noonan has the simplest suggestion.

Nothing can or should be done, no new federal law passed, until the border itself is secure. That is the predicate, the common sense first step. Once existing laws are enforced and the border made peaceful, everyone in the country will be able to breathe easier and consider, without an air of clamor and crisis, what should be done next. What might that be? How about relax, see where we are, and absorb. Pass a small, clear law — say, one granting citizenship to all who serve two years in the armed forces — and then go have a Coke. Not everything has to be settled right away. Only controlling the border has to be settled right away.

Why, pray tell, is that so difficult?