Trinward wrote: "... I am concerned about the lack of awareness of the true nature of Liberty exhibited by those who would seek to close down America's borders, as though this were some militaristic despotism with guards at all border-crossings. To focus on 'national identity' as a goal more important than the preservation and spreading of the cause of Liberty, upon which this country was founded, is to deny our very foundation and surrender to the enemy camp...."

Scattered throughout the U.S. Constitution are references mandating the government to raise armies and provide security, for the expressed purpose of protecting our borders. Allowing free passage from Mexico by its citizens does not spread the cause of liberty; it only helps to support a despotisn to the south. With all due respect to my dear friend Steve, the U.S. Constitution is America's national identity. The Constitution, including the Bill of Rights, is what makes us different. Perhaps if Mexico were forced by its people to adopt and abide by the same constitutional rules, we would not be having this discussion.

I compare an "Open Border Policy" to building houses without locks on thr doors. Yes, we shouldn't need them, and at times, it's a pain to look for your keys. But is anyone reading this ready to leave all their doors unlocked and/or open and tell all their neighbors?

I think not.

Taking the hypothetical position that we have "Secured the blessings of Liberty" here in America, in order for "open borders" to work, we must assume that every nations has the same guidelines for migration and similar activities as does the U.S.A. In short, to have open borders, 6 billion people would have to agree with it. If they don't, they put up their own walls and call themselves sovereign nation-states. If we dropped our border controls, that doesn't mean the others will as well. We cannot force other nations to open their borders, or change their laws concerning immigration and naturalization.

Unless that were to happen, I believe it would be a national security threat to blatantly just open our borders. More on that later.

But let's turn our attention to the particular issue that's being debated--Mexico and the migration of large numbers of Mexicans (mostly illegals) into the United States. Anticle I, Section 8, of the U.S. Constitution gives Congress the power to "establish a uniform rule of naturalization...." This should be noted for the information and education of those who support the idea of the President making a unilateral decision to change U.S. immigration policy, such as what is being contemplated by the Liberal Leftists and big business interests that are pressing for presidential decisionmaking and action to establish an open-borders policy vis-a-vis Mexico and the flow of Mexicans into the U.S.A. Such independent presidential decisionmaking and action on immigration and naturalization policy, according to my read of the U.S. Constitution, would be unconstitutional. Congress has set up laws (as required by the Constitution) to deal with folks from Mexico and elsewhere around the world who wish to live in America. Any foreign national wishing to become an American can follow the correct guidelines at the U.S. embassy in his or her country.

If, on the other hand, countries are too oppressive for their own peoples, we've even set up rules for "refugee" status. Foreigners seeking to escape oppressive political regimes, can apply for entrance into the U.S.A. as refugees. For some reason, Mexicans either cannot or will not do this. Things seem to be so bad in Mexico that its citizrns risk death to get here. With that in mind:

HOW DARE EL PRESIDENTE FOX COME HERE AND TELL US HOW WE SHOULD ENFORCE OUR LAWS? IF MY CITIZENS WERE LEAVING MY COUNTRY IN DROVES FOR A BETTER LIFE, I'D BE EMBARASSED, AND COMMITTED TO FIXING MY OWN MESS FIRST.

This is not a slam against the Mexican people. But if there is a problem in their country, I'd just as soon send them crates of rifles and invite them to go south toward Mexico City. That where the peoblem is! The problem is with their own government!

The border between Canada and the U.S.A is much longer than the Mexico-U.S.A. border, and many Canadians consider their own country among the most Socialist in the world. Yet, Canadian citizens aren't flocking here in droves. Most Canadians, in fact, insist on being Canadian, not American. You see, as bad as things might be in Canada, the Canadian government doesn't condone an industrial work force that is just a few nickels short of being slave labor.

But there's an ugly little problem right here in the United States! Many people (especially wealthy folks) employ illegal immigrants in this country. No Social Security taxes. No health benefits. No minimum wage requirements. For many employers, in fact, it's best to keep their immigrant employees illegal. By keeping them illegal, a threat can always be held over yheir heads that, if they become a problem, the employer can just "drop a dime" to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). Without the weight of labor laws and government regulations, American employers can get Mexican employees dirt cheap.

The argument is "they only want jobs that most Americans don't want." Hogwash. Change the U.S. labor laws, and employers can afford American labor, without having to look south.

I didn't make the rules, nor did I get the rest of the world angry with America. But, as we know, there are those in the world who just don't like us, and would love to have the chance to stroll into this country and cause plenty of trouble and have the money to continue doing it. Yes, we have enemies out there. There are also communicable diseases out there. Reality dictates we have to deal with that, just like other countries around the world.

Mexico deals with this by shipping people who violate its immigration laws back to their own countries, without even a hearing. Just ask the folks from Costa Rica, and the "gringos" who were living in Baja. If we didn't like what was going on in America, we could just leave. Of course, the next country has the right to throw us out if they don't want us there, and there isn't a thing we can do about it. That's reality.

The fact that a nation has rules to deal with citizens who are not native to that country is what makes it a country. It's what makes us sovereign.

In Jason Hornberger's column, "Locking Out the Immigrant," published just this spring, Hornberger said, the results of the current immigration into the U.S.A. "point only in the direction of future catastrophe. The U.S. government rightly criticizes the Soviet Union for not letting Jews emigrate ... but then is horrified at the prospect of having to let Soviet Jews enter the United States. And it rightly criticizes Vietnam for its oppressive society ... but then is horrified at the prospect of having to let too many Vietnamese 'boat people' [come here]." In my opinion, however, Hornberger was mistaken about these two groups.

Last I checked, there is nothing stopping Soviet Jews from immigrating to the U.S.A., outside of typical security checks (there are still spies out there). And, in fact, when most Soviet Jews were finally allowed to leave, most went to Israel, not the United States. As far as the Vietnamese are concerned, I wish the U.S. government would criticize them. But they didn't just walk over the border unchecked. Most of them came here legally, under the "refugee" status. There is a difference.

And this is the issue with the illegal immigration from Mexico and other countries. The words at the base of Lady Liberty say: "give us your poor, your tired ... the huddled masses yearning to breathe free" but. as that statue has sat in the harbor all these years, there were laws in effect that most who sojourned on Ellis Island had to follow, or else be called "WOPs" (without papers). I have no problem with the words written above. But we lave laws. "Knock before entering."

Else, how can we assume you're not a trespasser in our home?

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