[The_Eaglet]

Are you saying that Bush's dereliction of his duty as chief executive is never going to happen? I suspect we will see him sign some more unconstitutional legislation rather than veto it.

[Stallone]

I understand that you want to round 'em up and deport 'em.

I understand that under the law, it is within the rights of the administration to order it be done.

But the problem is very large, and nothing short of a police state could prevent foreigners from entering America any way possible, as it stands alone in the world as the great land of opportunity. That is, in America, we build fences to keep people out - in the old Soviet Union, they built them to keep people in.

Every one of us living here have ancestors who immigrated to America. It is our heritage and our legacy.

So please acknowledge that some of the illegal immigrants currently here perform useful and necessary work, and are deserving of the opportunity.

Ask yourself whether these immigrants, many starving and uneducated, truly understand the concept of legal or illegal immigration. From our comfortable and stable perch it is easy to forget this simple fact.

They see an amazing country that offers a chance at a life within their reach, and they will do literally anything to get there.

Those that are here already, unregistered and unknown, represent the mess that Bush inherited.

In the near future, many more illegal immigrants will enter the country.

In an age of terrorism, the risks are too great to ignore the problem any longer. But the problem in its current form is simply too big to solve with the existing rules.

Bush is attempting to reduce the problem, like battlefield triage, to direct the limited resources to the most severe cases.

If Bush could find a positive way to have the majority of the existing immigrants identify themselves voluntarily and guide themselves to legitimacy.

And if Bush could find a way so that those about to enter illegally will instead voluntarily apply, it would be a very good thing, you would agree.

Then anyone unwilling to do so would most likely be an undesirable. Bingo! This is the group you go after.

And since legitimacy is then both reasonable and accessible, there will be no sympathy whatsoever for the holdouts. Bush then has the political cover, in the case of these undesirables, to round 'em up and deport 'em.

The plan is brilliant.