wire is cheap, and if necessary, we can build an electrified fence from the Pacific to the Gulf of Mexico. Furthermore, there are about 50,000 Marines in the Pacific with nobody to fight and another 70,000 or so troops in Europe with nobody to fight. They should be brought home to seal the border, which is, after all, a federal responsibility.

Only after the border is sealed and the flow cut off should we even think about dealing with the illegals who are already here.

Step one in that process is to change the law, the Constitution if necessary, so that a child born to an illegal immigrant does not gain citizenship. This will eliminate illegal women sneaking across the border to dump their babies.

Step two should be to offer all illegal immigrants citizenship on three conditions: one, they learn to speak and write English; two, if they are able-bodied, they enlist for three years in the armed forces; and three, once granted citizenship, they forfeit the right to bring relatives into the U.S.

The loophole about bringing in relatives is especially important not only for the illegals but for legal immigrants. Otherwise, if you give citizenship to 10 million people, you are really doing it for 40 million to 50 million. We ought, in fact, to declare a moratorium on all immigration to give us time to assimilate everyone already here.

I'd give illegals one year to sign up for the program and then the door slams shut. After that, all illegals will be arrested and detained until they are deported.

Next, Congress should pass a zero-tolerance law. The way to get people to obey the law is to remove their economic incentive for disobeying the law. Hence, if you find an illegal alien in a home, confiscate the home; in a business, confiscate the business; and in a church, confiscate the church building. Christians who believe they are doing God's work by breaking the law should remember that Caesar must also do Caesar's work.

All of the above is pure fantasy. Congress is not going to enforce the laws or enact tougher ones, and neither is the president going to do anything to stem the flow of illegal aliens. The members of Congress are so gutless, you could eviscerate the whole lot of them and not find enough guts to fill a bucket. As for the president, he's a sorry excuse for a leader.

If the American people are serious about stopping this mass migration, they will have to rely on their state governments. All states should pass immigration laws and empower local police to enforce them. The border states should build their own fences. Americans should boycott Mexico, never set foot in that country and never spend a dime on a Mexican product. They should boycott American businesses and institutions, including churches and media, that support illegal immigration.

The problem is not the Mexican people. The problem is Mexico's corrupt, sorry, no-good government, which denies an economic opportunity to great masses of its people. The problem is our sorry, no-good federal government, which refuses to enforce its own laws. This problem is government-made on both sides of the border.

What Americans have to decide is, Do they wish to preserve their own country? What makes a country is not the geography but the people. Mexico lost Texas because so many Americans moved there; they were able to take it away from Mexico. Now, Mexico might well regain its lost territory the same way.

If Americans have become so lazy and so timid that they will no longer fight for their country, then I say: "Welcome, amigos. Come on in. A land should belong to people who love it enough to protect and preserve it. You're showing you are willing to take risks and endure incredible hardships to get here, while Americans are too lazy to even write their congressman. You deserve it, and they don't."