Thread by @olivierserge

1/9: ### Barbara Jordan: The Voice of Principle in America’s Immigration Debate

WASHINGTON — In an era when immigration policy often divides along partisan lines, the legacy of Barbara Jordan, the trailblazing Texas congresswoman, offers a reminder of what principled reform might look like. Jordan, who rose from segregated Houston to become a national icon, chaired a bipartisan commission in the 1990s that produced a blueprint for immigration overhaul — one that emphasized the rule of law, national interests and humane enforcement. As debates rage today over border security and legal pathways, her recommendations continue to echo, though often selectively invoked.

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2/9: Born in 1936 in Houston’s Fifth Ward, Barbara Charline Jordan was the daughter of a Baptist minister and a domestic worker. She navigated the barriers of Jim Crow-era Texas to attend Texas Southern University and Boston University Law School, graduating in 1959. Her legal acumen and commanding oratory propelled her into politics: In 1966, she became the first African American elected to the Texas Senate since Reconstruction, and in 1972, the first Southern Black woman to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives.

3/9: Jordan’s star rose during the Watergate scandal, when her 1974 speech before the House Judiciary Committee — defending the Constitution as a bulwark against executive overreach — captivated the nation. “My faith in the Constitution is whole; it is complete; it is total,” she declared, helping pave the way for President Richard M. Nixon’s resignation. She later delivered keynote addresses at the Democratic National Conventions in 1976 and 1992, becoming the first Black woman to do so.

4/9: Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in the 1970s, she retired from Congress in 1979 to teach at the University of Texas at Austin, but her public service endured.
In 1993, President Bill Clinton appointed Jordan to chair the U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform, a bipartisan panel established by the Immigration Act of 1990 to evaluate and recommend changes to the nation’s immigration system. The commission, often called the Jordan Commission after her, included former politicians, academics and experts.

5/9: It issued a series of reports between 1994 and 1997, with Jordan leading until her death from pneumonia complications in 1996 at age 59.
The commission’s findings were forthright and pragmatic. In its 1994 report, “U.S. Immigration Policy: Restoring Credibility,” it called for cracking down on illegal immigration through enhanced border security, workplace verification and penalties for employers hiring undocumented workers.

6/9: Subsequent reports in 1995 and 1997 recommended reducing overall legal immigration by about one-third, from around 800,000 annually to 550,000, prioritizing nuclear families (spouses and minor children) over extended relatives like siblings and adult children. It advocated for skilled workers to bolster the economy, a cap on refugee admissions at 50,000 per year (with flexibility for emergencies) and reforms to asylum processes to deter abuse.

7/9: The panel stressed that immigration should “serve the national interest,” rejecting hostility toward immigrants while insisting on enforceable limits to maintain public trust.
President Clinton endorsed the initial recommendations, praising them as “pro-family, pro-work, pro-naturalization.” Yet the reports’ call for modest increases in visas for spouses and children of legal residents highlighted Jordan’s balanced approach, countering claims by some modern restrictionists who cite her to justify drastic cuts.

8/9: If Jordan’s commission were reconvened today, amid record border encounters, asylum backlogs and polarized politics, its principles might urge a similar recalibration. With illegal crossings straining resources and legal backlogs stretching years, the report could advocate for robust border technology, expedited deportations for unfounded claims and streamlined legal channels for high-skilled talent and family reunification — all while decrying xenophobia.

9/9: In a 2026 landscape shaped by climate migration and global instability, it might also address humanitarian needs, echoing Jordan’s vision: Immigration as a strength when managed wisely, not an unchecked force.
Jordan’s work endures as a call for civility in a fraught arena. As one biographer noted, she transformed from politician to patriot, her eloquence a bridge across divides. In today’s debates, her legacy invites not division, but deliberation.
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