... If Congress passes the current immigration bill being debated in the Senate, President Bush will sign the legislation, and in so doing, offer immediate amnesty to more than 12 million illegal immigrants who currently reside in our country. Bill supporters call it "probationary status," but the effect will be to give lawbreakers legal status and thus access to Social Security, Medicare, some welfare services and our court systems. And just like that, the main purpose of this immigration bill will have been realized.

[...] We are told the bill will end the practice of chain migration by implementing a merit-based points system. But for this, we will have to wait eight years and hope that no future politicians change the law under immense pressure from left-wing interest groups.

We are told the bill will provide for a workable and truly-temporary guest worker system that will benefit our economy. But already, the Senate has gutted this provision by slashing the program by two-thirds.

We are told the bill will encourage legal immigration and assimilation into the traditional American melting pot. But this belies the fact that granting amnesty is the biggest possible incentive for future illegal immigration. Additionally, this bill does not make English the official language and does not require amnesty recipients to demonstrate any serious English comprehension for 12 years.

Most importantly, we are promised real border security with the construction of a partial fence along our southern border, thousands of new border patrol agents, and a new worker-verification system. This, we are told, is the number one priority of the bill.

As proof of the promise, the authors say no other provision contained in this bill (except the immediate "probationary" legal status) will be implemented until the border is secure. And how will we know the border is secure? The president - the bill's chief proponent - will receive a letter from one of his top officials certifying that it is so.

If history is a guide, these promises will be proved empty.

In other words, our Senate is damned intent to ram amnesty, and all its lasting and irreversible effects on our nation, down the throats of the American people, in spite of our objections and misgivings proven by poll after poll.

Regarding immigration in general, no one is really against immigration, we're a nation of immigrants, But we need to be realistic about who we let in to our country, their intent, their contribution to our nation's economy and culture, and their willingness to assimilate and learn our language. I like what An Angry Dakota Democrat says about immigration in general, and especially about immigration from Mexico.

... immigration is a good thing for America. However you need to know who is coming and going. We might as well just annex Mexico and have that as our 51st state if we aren't going to enforce our immigration policies at the border. America is made up of immigrants, but now is not the time to let our borders be free for everybody to come across and get citizenship. It has never been that time, and it should never be that time. This bill would make that time become now.

Meanwhile, our government is saying to Forget the 20-million illegal aliens, track the cows!

Illegal aliens bring in drugs, guns, disease, and who knows what else. Illegal aliens drive down wages. Illegal aliens commit a disproportionate number of crimes, and clog the court system and fill the jails. Illegal aliens drain social services at taxpayer expense - and the government is helpless - or unwilling - to do anything about it.

But the government is all hot to trot about tagging all the animals in the country because - they say - it may help locate the source of a disease, should one break out.

That's our government, always looking out for us - doing all the wrong things in all the wrong places to all the wrong "people" (sic)!