The fifth column is marching.Supporters of illegal immigration, open borders - and perhaps Mexico - have been taking it to the streets of America lately. Protesters are demanding the U.S. Senate kill legislation that would kill the overflow of illegal aliens swamping this republic.
House Resolution 4437, the Border Protection, Antiterrorism and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005, is sponsored by James Sensenbrenner Jr., R-Wis. It directs the Department of Homeland Security to "take all actions necessary and appropriate to achieve and maintain operational control over the entire land and maritime border of the United States ... ."
For starters.
Mr. Sensenbrenner's bill also calls for mandatory minimum sentences for illegals, penalties for their enablers (including employers), a good fence along the Mexican border and so much more. The text of the bill is available online at judiciary.house.gov/media/pdfs/immbillsection.pdf.
"It criminalizes people and does not offer solutions," said Omar N. Lopez, coordinator of a protest march today in the Chicago area by almost 80 organizations. "It calls for the expulsion of undocumented workers."
Maybe after the march Mr. Lopez could explain how one criminalizes a foreigner whose mere presence on American soil makes him an illegal.
Criminalizing those who help illegals is a darn good solution. Arresting an employer of illegals and then making him do the perp walk in handcuffs would send a message that everyone would understand.
And what does Lopez, a naturalized American citizen from Mexico, think about a sturdy fence along the border?
"It's a terrible idea," he said. "In America we love democracy. We rejoiced when the Berlin Wall came down. So to build a wall is just a complete contradiction with the principles of democracy in America.
"The Border Patrol testified in Washington that a wall would do nothing to stop the flow. We need more technology."
Mr. Lopez might want to brush up on Cold War history. The Berlin Wall was very effective in preventing East Germans from crossing into freedom. Lethally, so.
When did deterrence contradict America's democratic principles?
"It's a sign of how difficult it is to enforce laws even as modest as the provisions of Sensenbrenner's bill," said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies. "They are furiously opposed by activist groups."
Since public opinion polls constantly indicate that an overwhelming rainbow coalition of everyday Americans oppose illegal immigration, why don't the politicians inside the Beltway do something about it -- like maybe defending the southern border to stop the invasion?
"Overwhelming support for something does not automatically translate into policy," Mr. Krikorian said. But the intensity of the opinion matters a lot. It's not a high-priority issue for most Americans. But for those who favor illegals (to derive money or power) it is much more important, he said.
Why are some Americans not so passionate about defending the border?
"The main reasons are ambivalence about immigration and fear about name-calling," Krikorian said.
Mr. Lopez says racism is one of the reasons groups opposed to illegal immigration support the bill.
But how big a role does that play?
"I'd say 99 percent," Lopez said.