Phil Bredesen

Guest Columnist

U.S. can handle caravan of thousands coming from south of the border in a mature way without chaos.

This could be the start to bipartisan immigration reform -- if we do it right.

Phil Bredesen, a former governor of Tennessee, is running for U.S. Senate as a Democrat.

The United States will face a challenge over the next few weeks. A caravan of several thousand individuals who are seeking to enter the United States is approaching our Southern border.

When it arrives, the potential for chaos is high. We need to handle this well and not let it become an opportunity for politicians from either party to inflame passions and sow discord among Americans. This is an occasion for everyone to act like grownups.

The United States absolutely has the right, and it has the duty to its citizens, to control and secure our borders. When I was governor, we were among the first states to send National Guard troops to the border when it was requested by Homeland Security.

We need to act like the powerful, confident nation we are.

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How America can shine at this moment

Here’s what that might look like:

We will know where the caravan is headed well in advance of their arrival — this is not a few people sneaking across in the middle of the night. Position Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel where they can intercept caravan members at the border. Demand that Mexico help manage the process on their side of the border. The National Guard can support ICE; this is something our troops, with their command and control sophistication, can handle smoothly.

With control of the situation, process those seeking to enter the US right at the border. This can be done in an orderly way, in accordance with our laws.

For those seeking asylum, we have formal procedures, written into law, laying out how we determine their eligibility. It is not an easy process. No one is granted asylum unless they convince an immigration judge that they qualify under our laws. We can bring a set of these judges to the border to make this determination without allowing those seeking asylum access to the country before a determination is made.

If we follow this approach, the nation and the world will see on their television screens an orderly and effective process conducted under the rule of law.

Congress needs to start working together on immigration reform

They would see a potentially explosive situation handled by the United States in a mature, controlled manner. Families are not separated; ICE agents are not vilified.

The United States looks like a competent actor, protecting our borders and our national security in a professional and humane way.

Done in this way, this could be a game-changer. What we see now as a threat could become instead the first step in a bipartisan effort at immigration reform.

As a nation, we are at our best when we do the big things together, as Americans, not as Democrats or Republicans. Medicare, Social Security, the Civil Rights Act had this support; immigration reform, if it is to be successful, will need broad, bipartisan support as well.

It’s time to bring an end to the partisan bickering and back-biting that has characterized this issue, and many others, for years. Congress needs to start earning its pay -- this could be a great way to begin.

Phil Bredesen is a businessman and entrepreneur running for the U.S. Senate seat for Tennessee being vacated by Sen. Corker. Bredesen served two terms as Tennessee’s 48th Governor (2003—2011). He was Mayor of Nashville from 1991 to 1999. Prior to this, he was the CEO of a public health care company.