Beyond the wall on immigration

President Trump has been criticized for adopting his “America first” campaign slogan because of its fraught historical implications. But it shouldn’t be controversial that Trump wishes to shape his policies for the benefit of the country he leads.

That’s at least as true on immigration as in on any other issue. Trump signed two executive orders Wednesday setting in motion the building of a wall on America’s southern border. There are many border walls in the world and there is nothing inherently wrong with them. (Comparisons with the Berlin Wall are utterly inapt, for that edifice was built to keep people imprisoned within, rather than intended to keep people out).