The case of a convicted felon who had been deported from the United States to Mexico five times and now faces a murder charge in last week’s shooting of a woman in San Francisco has added fresh fuel to the incendiary debate over this country’s immigration policies.

Quickest to capitalize on this tragedy has been presidential contender Donald Trump, already under fire – or gaining support, depending on your perspective – for launching his campaign last month with these remarks about immigrants: “They’re bringing drugs, they’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.” In an almost laughable, loathsome afterthought, he patronizingly added, “And some, I assume, are good people.”

Some GOP rivals for the nomination, including former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and former New York Gov. George Pataki, have admirably denounced Mr. Trump’s comments, saying they are based on isolated incidents and don’t reflect the party’s inclusive views. The silence from other prospective candidates has been deafening.

Mr. Trump has expressed regret only that such businesses as NBC Universal, Univision, Televisa, Macy’s and Serta have severed ties with him, reportedly at a cost of about $50 million, but the real estate tycoon/reality TV personality must be chortling all the way to the polls that have placed him second only to Mr. Bush.

There is no doubt that the July 1 shooting underscores an apparently epic failure involving immigration, law enforcement and prison authorities.

The case involves Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez who in a jailhouse interview Tuesday with a California radio station reportedly admitted shooting a woman named Kate Steinle while she walked with her father on a San Francisco pier last week, but claimed it had been an accident. The 32-year-old-woman died en route to the hospital.

Mr. Sanchez told radio station KGO he sneaked back across the border to the United States after each deportation to find work.

According to USA Today, federal officials say Mr. Sanchez should have never been allowed freedom. Authorities released Mr. Sanchez in March from federal prison where he had served nearly four years for previous immigration violations, and then delivered him to the San Francisco sheriff’s office, where he was wanted on felony marijuana distribution charges.

The newspaper reported that local officials dropped those charges a few days later and released Mr. Sanchez despite a request from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain him for deportation.

A series of colossally bad bureaucratic decisions may have led to last week’s tragedy, but this newspaper does not subscribe to Mr. Trump’s simplistic solution: “We need a wall!”

The Obama Administration has proposed a common-sense approach to reform that is more practical and humane. It not only would seek to curb illegal immigration at the border and deporting criminals, not families, but also would offer a streamlined process toward legal immigration. In addition, the plan would crack down on employers who hire undocumented workers.

We support these concepts, and encourage Mr. Trump to pay particularly close attention to this last measure.

The Washington Post reported Tuesday that the billionaire developer might be using undocumented workers from other countries to help build a $200 million luxury hotel only five blocks from the White House.

The newspaper quoted a spokeswoman for Mr. Trump as saying the company and its contractors follow all applicable laws.

Mr. Trump is an extraordinarily accomplished businessman, bombastic self-promoter and master showman – qualities often shared by successful politicians. But like many politicians he also has a tendency to shoot from the lip.

When he first seriously entertained presidential aspirations during the 2012 race Mr. Trump persisted in a ridiculous “birther” claim that Barack Obama had been born outside the United States and therefore ineligible to be president, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

Mr. Trump now risks appearing not just foolish but bigoted, which may finally prompt reasonable Republicans to repeat a phrase he made famous on his “Apprentice” television show: “You’re fired.”