Border Enforcement, But Why?

Michael Chertoff continues to whine about actually going forward with border enforcement and prosecuting illegal aliens.

Chertoff and the Bush Administration say they are now going to go forward with enforcing immigration laws already on the books for years, but -- as Michelle Malkin has also pointed out -- perhaps they are doing it for all the wrong reasons:

"The enforcement approach is aimed partly at placating conservative Republicans who are angry about the administration's failure to enforce existing immigration laws and the president's support for a plan that would have allowed illegal immigrants to become citizens. But it also could create a political climate that might lead to the comprehensive changes the administration has sought, including a guest worker program and some accommodation for the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States."

According to the Los Angeles Times, Chertoff claims that "...the administration held off on implementing these measures in the hope that a legislative overhaul would provide a tougher arsenal."

No, the administration held off because they wanted an amnesty program, not a "tougher arsenal" for border enforcement. There was absolutely no reason they couldn't have begun enforcement sooner, and maybe even bought some goodwill from those of us who were skeptical about the administration's commitment to border enforcement. A little honesty would be nice.

If the newspaper analysis can be believed -- always an open question, but it syncs with Chertoff's track record -- the Administration apparently now feels that if they can make enough people angry about border enforcement, they'll win the amnesty package that way, rather than winning hearts and minds with a good-faith effort to secure the borders first and discuss amnesty later.