The Illegal Immigration Issue Finally Gaining Major National Attention (in the MSM)

Ask virtually anyone in fly-over country, and they will tell you that they have been upset for YEARS now about the Federal Government's nearly total abdication of its Consitutional responsibility to protect our borders.

However, the issue is only NOW beginning to register on the radars of the denizens of the Twilight Zone known as inside-the-beltway Washington, D.C.

First, there is the growing recognition that Mexico is a mess -- something that has been apparent to the average American for decades. The Christian Science Monitor -- no beacon of conservative thought -- has even run a column asking if Mexico is still a nation. (Hat tip: realclearpolitics.)

Second, after the Democratic governors of two border states -- Arizona and New Mexico -- last week declared state emergencies with regard to the unchecked flow of illegal immigrants, members of the Virginia state legislature are now pressuring Democratic Virginia Governor Mark Warner to do likewise. (Hat tip: realclearpolitics.)

Third, a (far too pro-illegal-alien, in my view) piece by Brian Knowlton in the International Herald Tribune details how the problem of illegal immigration has reached its tentacles well into the heartland, such that it is no longer a border issue only. (Hat tip: realclearpolitics.)

Fourth, the sluggish, luggard, unresponsive, derelict Homeland Security Department -- in reaction to last week's declaration of an emergency by Arizona's Democrat Governor Janet Napolitano in Arizon's border counties (due to the pressures of illegal immigration), has announced that it will do more (though not nearly enough) to help Arizona control its borders. (Hat tip: realclearpolitics.)

Finally, in his syndicated column appearing in The Seattle Times, Ruben Navarette, Jr -- a Harvard-educated Hispanic writer -- writes a blockbuster column that President Bush and Senator McCain should read. Navarette pointedly notes that he OPPOSES "open border, amnesty and the issuance of driver's licenses to illegal immigrants."[!] (Hat tip: realclearpolitics.)