Take a look at the cover of the current National Review, the cover that

illustrates Mark Krikorian’s article on the Bush amnesty plan (see our homepage). As an

American, do you feel easy contemplating that wall? How high is it — 12,

15 feet? I think it’s hideous — and, in some way, un-American.

“Wait a minute, Derb — aren’t you a deport-’em-all guy? A hard-liner on

illegal immigration? Isn’t this wall going to help your cause — keep the

illegals out?”

Well, possibly. The goal that I’d like to see us aim for, though — zero,

or at any rate very few, illegal immigrants in the USA — could be met just

as well without any wall. If we strictly applied the law, to the full

degree of our current resources, deporting as many illegal aliens as we

could, prosecuting as many employers of illegals as we could, then there

would soon be no jobs for illegals, and there would be no inducement for

them to cross the border.

I’m just making the point that this hideous, un-American wall is not a

necessary component of a tighter policy on illegal immigration. The only

necessary component is strict, vigorous enforcement of current federal law.

However, if you think that wall is a pretty thing, a welcome adornment to

the American landscape, then support the Bush amnesty. The Bush proposal,

as currently stated, would make such a wall absolutely essential, to keep

out the hordes of Central Americans pouring into our country in anticipation

of the NEXT amnesty around 2022. Heck, we’ll probably need a minefield,

too, and tethered dogs, and watch-towers…