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With the expiration of Title 42, a public health measure that allowed board patrol agents to deny asylum-seekers (technically refugees) from gaining entry at the U.S., the issues of immigration and border security are front and center as potent political issues.

Images of hundreds and hundreds of migrants congregating at our southern border provide dramatic TV footage and inflammatory rhetoric -- "crisis" "disaster" "chaos" "state of emergency" -- paint a bleak picture.

Yet, the images and rhetoric distort as much as they clarify what is happening and what needs to be done.

House Republicans have seized the moment to pass a border security bill -- not an immigration bill -- to coincide with this latest surge at the border. It was an achievement by Speaker McCarthy to get enough of his fractious caucus to agree, but he was able to corral those votes -- particularly from Hispanic Republicans -- only because they knew that the bill has no chance to become law.

"Border security (as opposed to reforming immigration law) is the easiest part we could have done and we got it wrong," said Rep. Tony Gonzales, a Texas Republican whose district covers a large chunk of the border. He voted for the bill anyway because he believes there are elements that could, ultimately, become part of a compromise.

The House bill would require that the unfinished parts of the border wall under construction when President Biden assumed office be completed. There is some money for 2,000 or so new border agents and for some technology. It directs that intending migrants remain in Mexico or in a detention facility and it criminalizes visa over-stays.

The hard-liners backed off harsher language that would have cracked down on employers who don't verify that potential employees are here legally, but there is little new money in this bill or changes that would allow more temporary work visas -- either for the highly skilled or agricultural workers.

Keep in mind that 40 percent of agricultural workers in America are undocumented and consider that if the debt ceiling bill that House Republicans passed a week ago became law, there could be a 40 percent cut in funding for border security.

The immigration problem is mind-numbingly complex, from the causes (poverty, violence, political repression) to the solutions that involve resources not only for border patrol agents and enhanced technology but also for immigration judges to reduce the backlog of cases. Most asylum-seekers are ultimately denied, but they are legally entitled to their day in court.

The Biden administration deported or turned away 1.4 million intending migrants last year and arrested some 10,000 individuals accused of being part of smuggling networks. The president presented a bill to Congress to reform the immigration system on Jan. 21, 2021. It would have provided a pathway to citizenship for the undocumented including the so-called Dreamers. It went nowhere.

There were things in the Biden bill for border security that were similar to the House bill (more agents and technology). There has always been some common ground that could act as a starting point. However, one wonders if some Republicans would rather have the issue as a political club they can use to beat Democrats.

Senators Krysten Sinema and Tom Tillis have been trying to cobble together a bipartisan bill that would be the first comprehensive immigration reform in 40 years, but most analysts don't see any hope of progress or compromise.

In his town hall this past week, former President Trump said America has gone to hell and is a Third World country. The thousands heading toward America's southern border don't appear to agree. There is a disconnect between the overheated rhetoric and the sense of urgency to do something. Congress needs to get serious

Keith Peterson, of Lake Barrington, served 29 years as a press and cultural officer for the United States Information Agency and Department of State. He was chief editorial writer of the Daily Herald 1984-86.

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Guest columnist Keith Peterson: Overheated rhetoric, obvious ... - Daily Herald