I figure that about 95 percent of those living in our fair community profess to be Christians. Also, I would hope that many of our citizens have been paying attention to the “hot” immigration issue going on in Washington at this time.

As you biblical scholars know, the verse shown in the title of this piece goes like this: “whoever does not enter a sheephold

through the gate but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber. Do we get John’s message?

The Washington politicians don’t. Or if they do they don’t care.

It’s almost beyond comprehension that we were able to put men on the Moon almost 40 years ago yet we have been unable to do what should be a relatively easy fundamental endeavor; secure our southern border.

Whether you are talking about an animal pen, your backyard, a big ranch or a sovereign nation like ours, anyone with walking-around sense should understand that ownership of property includes the right to control its boundaries. That is why property owners have built fences for as long as private property has existed.

This, of course, begs the question: Why in the world does our federal government have such a problem in securing our borders and why is illegal immigration out of control? I feel certain that all of the many football-crazy fans in our wonderful sports-oriented community remember the great coach Vince Lombardi.

The legendary coach had it right when he once said “The difference between a successful person and others is not the lack of strength, not the lack of knowledge, but rather is a lack of will.” There is no question, in my opinion, that the lack of will on the part of our recent presidents has been the real problem, and this is especially true with George Bush.

In my opinion, like everything else going on in our country today, the immigration issue has become completely entangled in politics. The Immigration Reform Bill, which is being debated in Congress at this time, was put together by a group of “bipartisan” senators who have something to gain for themselves if this bill.

This bill, which amounts to amnesty for millions of illegal aliens and awaits the president’s signature, was hammered out in secret “closed door” sessions.

If passed, it will put lawbreakers ahead of those legally seeking citizenship, puts foreign workers ahead of U.S. workers and will encourage more illegal immigration. When will the politicians get it straight?

The American people are not demanding amnesty, they are insisting on border security.

Rep. Peter King (R-NY) has it figured out saying, “… granting amnesty would reward lawbreakers and legalize scores of criminals and terror suspects that are currently here illegally. This only weakens the security of our homeland.

A country which cannot control its borders loses control of its destiny.”

The “Secure Fence Act” which was passed last year, called for 700 miles of fencing along the border. Thus far, only two miles of fence has been built with the project apparently halted at this time. To put the fencing project in perspective, our southern border encompasses 1,952 miles.

In an address to the nation a year ago President Bush proclaimed that his first priority was to secure the borders. He stated the objective as having a border that would be open for trade and lawful immigration but closed to illegal immigrants, criminals, drug dealers and terrorists.

In reality, he promised to send in the National Guard, which only amounted to a handful of unarmed men. Bush promised to support the Border Patrol agents, yet federal prosecutors have put fear into the hearts of the border agents by prosecuting two agents for shooting and wounding two Mexican drug smugglers.

The two agents, Ignacio Ramos and Jose

Compean, were sentenced to ten years each in federal jails.

They should have already been pardoned. How can our Border Patrol Agency expect to recruit quality agents if these officers are not going to be allowed to do their jobs, which is stopping lawbreaking illegal aliens?

In a recent column by the great black writer Thomas Sowell, “Amnesty Fraud,” Sowell points out that the word amnesty comes from the same root as “amnesia,” which means, in this case, you overlooked some crime, as it never happened.

He also said that if the current immigration bill passes, “we are talking about a major and irreversible change in American population, the American culture and the political balance.”

Again, John 10:1 says it all. God save our great Republic.

Byrd Looper is a regular columnist for The Times-Journal.