There is no feasible way to close the borders and the coasts short of building an Iron Curtain around America or a cobalt curtain. There is no way that we can afford the personnel necessary. There is no way that anyone is going to side with the border hysteria as a political matter. The day we have to build a wall around America is the day that America is finished and the rumors of her death are quite premature.
Not too long ago, Ronald Reagan led conservatives to two consecutive smashing victories in 1980 and 1984 as the man whose entire public career was a sunny disposition and publicly expressed hatred of bigotry. He was the one office holder of note worth inviting to dinner. How soon we forget! Dubya emulates Reagan's decency and is bashed for it.
Let's have this battle out in 2004. Run Tommy Tancredo against Bush in the primaries and the Republican primary voters will settle this matter once and for all and save the party's reputation. Tancredo has a lot better chance of losing his Congressional seat than he does of beating Dubya anywhere and you know it.
You keep stating this as proof that we cannot do anything against illegals. Were this the case, the federal government could not deport illegals. So, quite frankly, you're full of it - those rulings you cite can only practically apply to LEGAL immigrants. If a court were to rule that illegals were eligible for welfare, in a sane, federalist society the moment they applied for welfare and were determined to be illegal aliens, the INS would be notified, they would be apprehended and then deported - so they can be eligible all they want, they just won't be around to collect. Instead, state and local governments get around this by simply looking the other way and ignoring federal immigration law - an area where the federal government has clear, CONSTITUTIONAL authority.
This conversation is over.