By Andrew L. Jaffee

Those of us who support legal immigration won a small victory today, but the battle is just beginning. “A fragile bipartisan compromise that would legalize millions of unlawful immigrants suffered a setback Thursday when it failed a test vote in the Senate, leaving its prospects uncertain…” But “the measure…got a reprieve when Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he would give it more time before yanking the bill and moving on to other matters.” This “compromise” is President Bush’s pet, and would open the floodgates to illegal immigration. The President is really looking to ensure a cheap supply of labor, even tough he cloaks his aims in other language (sophistry). His plan is basically an amnesty that rewards people who have illegally entered the U.S. What we really need is legal and sustainable immigration, not an illegal tidal wave.

Bush wants to allow 400,000 “guest workers” to enter the U.S. every year. This is a recipe for disaster. There are at least 12 million illegal immigrants in the U.S., and 10,000 pouring into our nation every day. One study predicts there will be 5 million more Latin American immigrants in the U.S. by 2015, while another prognosticates that illegals will push the American population to 1/2 billion people by 2050. The U.S. government is failing dismally at stemming this unfettered tidal wave.

You can help to stem the tide of illegals by writing, calling, emailing, and/or faxing your elected representatives. Enter your zip code below and tell your congresspersons to drop all notions of amnesty and to require all immigrants to enter the U.S. legally. Advise them to require that all employers verify that their workers are in country legally. Push for severe penalties against businesses who ignore our laws. Ask your representatives to require that all illegals be punished and forced to apply for residency through legal means, even if this means they must leave the country and apply to reenter.