A reader responded to my post on Reagan and immigration with a useful example of the president’s distinction between immigrants and refugees, something that is relevant in considering his likely response to today’s challenges:

One of the main immigration issues of Reagan’s presidency was the illegal migration of Haitian “boatpeople” to the United States, fleeing that country’s dire economic conditions (not much has changed). On this issue, Reagan firmly denied that the United States had any obligation to accept illegal Haitian migrants, as they were not fleeing political repression and thus were not genuine refugees. In a private letter dated December 1, 1981, Reagan wrote, “There is no change with regard to our taking in refugees who are fleeing, as the boat people did, from Communist conquerors or people fleeing the kind of dictatorship that we have seen in Cuba. The Haitians, however, are actually just coming to our country for economic betterment…I can well understand their wanting to come here. But, we have to have immigration quotas because that kind of immigrant is found in every corner of the world and there is no way that we could, without limit, take all who want to come here simply for the opportunity this country offers” (“Reagan: A Life in Letters,” by Ronald Reagan and Kiron K. Skinner, p.369). This letter clearly illustrates that Reagan, though he may have been relatively liberal on immigration in general, nevertheless believed in limited, controlled migration. That sets him very much apart from the fanatics at the Wall Street Journal.