I skipped El Presidente’s speech last night; ultimately, we all knew what he was going to say, and I had better things to do than to sit at home being pissed off. I went to the gym, lifted many tons of weights, and watched my Red Sox paste the hapless Orioles to the tune of 11-1.

However, as enjoyable as the evening was, I noted when I got home that in the short time I was away, 90 more illegal immigrants snuck across our border in contravention of federal law. Laws that our politicians, those brave and principled statesmen, willfully ignore in the name of vote-pandering.

Depressing.

As the political situation in the US has spun ever more wildly out of control, my desire to write about it has slackened. It’s tough to get very fired up when the political party that claims to represent your ideological interests completely betrays you (or seems to). As the immigration fiasco spirals further into the toilet, I can only sit at my PC, dejectedly reading the news and other political blogs, wondering at the future of my country. Blogging, when I’m in this type of mood, is the furthest thing from my mind. However, as with other major items in the news, it’s time to bequeath my perspective upon you, my loyal reader. It is, after all, why this page is here in the first place.

Edit 05/16/2006 4:35pm ET: Apparently I’m not the only guy out there with blogger fatigue. Continuing…

Item number one: As much as I hate to say it, a mass-deportation of illegal aliens simply cannot be contemplated.

Yes, they snuck into this country illegally. Yes, that makes them criminals. Yes, according to our federal immigration laws, they should be subject to deportation if caught.

However, it is unconscionable to uproot aliens who have been here so long as to start families and have children, some of whom have grown up only knowing life in America. Aside from the logistics of aggressively deporting some 12 million illegals, there are questions about how a deportation would be handled where “anchor babies” are involved.

Other conservative pundits often refer to the “Reagan Amnesty of ‘86″ as a colossal policy mistake; I’m more willing to say that the amnesty itself was less of a mistake than Congresses’ failure to make competent border security a condition of that amnesty.

In regards to all that, the criminal failure of our government to secure its borders and ensure the sovereignity of United States territory has led us to Bush’s “Back of the line amnesty” deal. It’s suboptimal to be sure, but with the horrible immigration situation we have, it’s the only policy initiative I see right now that makes practical sense.

Item number two: Once the domestic policy on how to deal with our current illegals is in place, the very minute that it is agreed to, we must begin construction of the Border Wall. Once what amounts to a general amnesty goes into effect, there will be a renewed surge of illegals running for our borders, hoping to work and / or sponge here until the next amnesty. The only way to swallow the legal travesty of the inevitable amnesty is to couple it with border security so tight that a cucaracha can’t squeeze through without a passport and two forms of ID. And as much as the technocratic elite in Washington like to harp about sensors and e-fences and the like, we don’t have the manpower on the border to monitor a “virtual fence” in a meaningful fashion. We do, however, have it well within our budgetary ability to build and maintain a wall from sea to shining sea, coupled with a nice barrier trench and a whole lot of concertina wire.

It needs to be done. Foreign immigration must be controlled.

Item number three: Once security is in place, the hammer needs to be dropped on US employers of illegal aliens. The hammer should involve enormous fines per violation (up to $250,000 USD) and mandatory prison time, of an amount no less than a full year in federal incarceration. The message would be clear: Knowingly employ an illegal and you’ll likely lose your business, livlihood and freedom. Removing the ability for aliens to find easy employment (or any employment) will remove their desire to emigrate illegally.

Item number four: Militarize the border until such a time as 1. a border wall is completed, and 2. the size of the border patrol is quadrupled. As I mentioned earlier, we simply don’t have the amount of agents necessary to properly monitor the border in a fashion that would make it resoundingly secure. Until such a time as enough agents are hired and trained, we need a significant military presence on the border.

Item number five: Shitcan the guest worker program. If we need to accomodate more legal immigrants per year to meet the needs of certain industries who are used to paying slave wages for labor, that’s something we can hash out. Yes, that means employers will have to pay federal minimum wage to immigrants. Yes, that means prices on many products will go up. However, I’m willing to pay the extra cost while knowing my country’s borders and culture are secure.

We’re dealing with gas prices that have doubled in a decade, and the economy is still cruising along. I think we can deal with some lettuce inflation. Artificially depressing wages in America by winking and nodding at industry that exploits illegal aliens is anticapitalistic and more suited to America circa 1846 than 2006. Stop exploiting foreigners, and let the market decide what I’ll pay for a bag of apples.

Item number six: Repeal the anchor baby laws, once and for all. From this point forward, no more.

***

The above is no exhaustive list, to be sure. I could go on for pages more, but I wanted to lay out some basics and generate some discussion on them.

Time for lunch. Perhaps I’ll add more thoughts later.

Edit 05/17/2006 4:00pm ET: Well, it’s about a thousand miles too short, but it’s a start.

Also, we learn that both Maine Senators, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, voted against a provision requiring enforcement before amnesty.

The term is “RINO”: Republican-In-Name-Only.

Edit 05/18/2006 2:58pm ET: Robert Samuelson tells it like it is.