As with any other policy decision, the risks have to be balanced against the benefits. And there are benefits in reuniting families, attracting skilled workers, diversifying the immigrant stream, and welcoming our fair share of those who fear for their lives.

AUSTIN - The Texas House approval Thursday of a so-called sanctuary cities bill that would allow police officers to ask the immigration status of anyone they stop drew widespread condemnation from critics who said the measure will lead to racial profiling and is almost certain to enmesh the state in years of costly litigation.

After 16 hours of heated debate that ran until 3 a.m. Thursday, the Republican majority of the Texas House of Representatives pushed through SB 4, known as the anti-sanctuary city bill. It prohibits cities and counties from enacting laws that prevent the use of local resources for immigration enforcement. During the hearing phase of the bill, even police chiefs and sheriffs spoke out against it, saying that it will undermine public safety.

A coalition of civil rights groups agreed to end its challenge of Arizona's landmark 2010 immigration law in a deal in which the state issued guidelines on how police officers must enforce the law's most contentious section.The agreement unveiled Thursday ends the last of seven challenges to the law that was criticized for requiring officers, while enforcing other laws, to question the immigration status of people suspected of being in the country illegally.