Illegal Immigration

One of my problems with President Bush is his apparent inability to distinguish the difference between immigration and illegal immigration. What is it about "illegal" that Bush and many other Americans cannot understand? The mainstream media normally portrays those opposed to illegal immigration as opposed to all immigration when nothing is further from the truth. Most Americans favor immigration when it is controlled, regulated, desirable, and benefits the nation. After all, as we are told repeatedly, we all are immigrants.

I am not sure why our political leaders, not just Bush, but most Democrats who seem more interested in growing their dependent voter base than in controlling the borders, have this blind spot on illegal immigration. Did NAFTA (signed into law by Clinton) include a hidden provision that forced the US to accept illegals? Was there a secret deal between the US and Mexico? Or do American companies that hire illegals have enough influence in Washington to mute the protests of millions of Americans?

Twenty years ago the problem was solved by Congress and President Reagn when legislation was passed to "fix" the illegal immigration problem. At that time there were 2-3 million illegals in the country and some were given amesty. Don't the bureaucrats in Washington do a wonderful job of "fixing" our national problems? Today it is estimated that there are upwards of 12 million illegals in the country and Congress and Bush are again talking of "fixing" the problem.

Can I laugh before I cry?

What if the Congress were proactive and addressed the problem at the source: at the border. Does that make too much sense for it to resonate in Washington? Probably. With uncontrolled borders we have no idea who is entering the country. Or for what purpose. For all we know there are thousands and thousands of terrorists waiting their time in jihadist cells, waiting to act as a fifth column when the time comes.

If we need extra non-American workers in the country we should and must set up a program whereas folks from Mexico and Latin America can enter the country to work for a limited time. Perhaps the feds should farm this program out to private industry for the best results. After all, Blockbusters will track you down for late movies and Fed Ex can move millions of packages across country in a matter of hours and deliver them on time. There is no doubt in my mind that private enterprise can handle such a guest worker program more efficiently than the feds.

What do you think? Is illegal immigration a serious problem? What should we do about it? Should illegals be entitled to the same benefits as Americans: free medical care, social security benefits, food stamps, welfare benefits, bank accounts, credit cards, state driver licenses, etc, etc.

How did we get into this mess and what do we do about it?