Illegals vs. legals.(immigration)

Just before his inauguration, President Bush announced he would renew his push for a program that would turn millions of illegal immigrants into "temporary workers." While pro-immigration politicians and pundits have hailed the proposal, it could actually increase legal-immigration restrictions in the future.

"We see millions of hard-working men and women condemned to fear and insecurity in a massive, undocumented economy," said the President when he first unveiled his proposal to normalize illegals. "The search for a better life is one of the most basic desires of humans beings. Many undocumented workers have walked mile after mile, through the heat of the day and the cold of the night. Some have risked their lives in dangerous desert border crossings, or entrusted their lives to the brutal rings of heartless human smugglers."

Never before has a prominent U.S. politician, let alone a President, rationalized illegal immigration that baldly. Bush's remarks place illegal aliens on the same plane with legal immigrants as seekers of opportunity. By describing illegal immigrants as "hard-working men and women" who are pursuing "better lives," he blurs the distinction between illegals and those who come to America following the rules. Perhaps inspired by President Bush's approach, New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg recently signed an executive order forbidding the NYPD from providing information on immigration violations to the Immigration Service, except in limited circumstances.

This tack, however, may backfire and increase public frustration toward all immigration. Opinion polls since the 1960s have shown that the American public wants to reduce the current level of immigration. ...