On Illegal Immigration

America is the most prosperous country in the world.

Bar none.

Mexicans disillusioned with their country's corruption are not risking a dangerous river or desert crossing to find jobs in Guatemala. Oppressed and destitute Cubans are not tying milk jugs to rusty 1957 Ford pickup trucks and setting them out to sea hoping that the Gulf currents will drift them to Honduras. Legal immigration is possible and immigrants are welcome as long as they enter the country lawfully and abide by our rules.

Moreover, illegal immigration is a law enforcement and national security, as opposed to a primarily economic, issue.

There are no "undocumented immigrants" in America. Those who enter our country without the American government's permission or willfully remain on our soil once their visa has expired are ILLEGAL ALIENS and must be deported. Period.

As a legal immigrant - and most recently a naturalized citizen - to this great country, I resent both illegal immigrants and those who condone the practice of illegal immigration.

Governor Pawlenty did not associate immigrants with crime in Minnesota as he has been accused of doing. He associated ILLEGAL immigrants with crime in Minnesota. And rightly so.

Moreover, law enforcement officials throughout Minnesota agree with the governor. The notable exceptions are those Twin City officials and politicians who have long capitulated to the criminal element in Minneapolis and St. Paul - both illegal and "homegrown".

President George W. Bush's Guest Worker Program is an intriguingly attractive idea which needs some tweaking. If correctly implemented, it would bring order to the immigration process while allowing lawful immigrants the economic opportunity unavailable in their countries of origin. So the question becomes, what incentives would there be for legal "guest workers" to return to their countries once their permit expires?

America is unquestionably a nation of immigrants. What makes our country great is not her "diversity", however. People did not originally immigrate to America so they could be with people different from themselves and feel all fuzzy and warm inside.

People from all over the world have come to America the Beautiful because she has always been a beacon of FREEDOM and OPPORTUNITY, which illegal immigration undermines.