The American Spectator

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The credibility of both political parties on illegal immigration is absolute zero. I still remember Bush’s sneering remark calling the Minutemen vigilantes — just the sort of contempt one might expect a rich limousine liberal to make. I have to admit I have never quite looked at him the same way since — quite apart from selling out on social-program pork-barreling, quotas, filibustering, and just about everything else. You can always depend on the Stupid Party to slap its supporters in the face.

Some of us also remember Bush’s earlier proposal to add a grand total of 200 members to the Border Patrol. Now he makes a big speech and we are supposed to believe he is against illegal immigration. The Democrats are no different. We also remember the amnesty for illegals in 1986 — we were solemnly told this would solve the problem, that it would be the first and last amnesty ever, and that our borders would be secured — yeah, right.

p>No other nation in the world treats its borders this way. And yes, if I were living in some corrupt, murderous, incompetent Third-World despotism, I would do my best to get into the United States first, or some other First-World country second. br> — John Lockwood /p> p> Legal immigration is a very good thing, but doing ANYTHING that will give illegals a chance to stay in this country is wrong. If they want to work here they should follow our laws and before anything is done for them they should have to go home and apply for a green card to work here legally. Even my county government is hiring illegals. If the government turns a blind eye to lawbreakers, and I don’t care if they are here to just earn a living they are still lawbreakers, then the rule of law is on a downhill slide. What next bank robbers that are just trying to feed their families. Just think if we were not having to pay for health care, schooling and welfare for illegals, just maybe our taxes could go down. br> — Elaine Kyle /p> p> …Another element that goes unmentioned is a “fix immigration” group in Southern California which has been actively working on this problem for over twenty years, CCIR, which is led by Barbara Coe. Congressman Tancredo is very late to the issue as far as Californians are concerned. At one time, probably in the '60s, California did have a very effective guest worker program, the Bracero program. It was designed by Western Growers to address the needs of the hundreds of seasonal crops produced in the state. Perhaps the writer could address this plan that worked. The unions that seem to think that every worker bee in the U.S. of A. is fodder for their dues and benefits, how sad. My daughter is currently involved with a “growing” industry, horticulture, a very big business here. It is time to do something other than bandy the slogans both pro and con. It is fixable. br> — Edda Gahm br> Diamond Bar, California