The Drudge Report headline screamed: "Homeland Security Chief: Expel All Illegals." The fine print said something altogether different.

Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff testified before the Senate Judiciary Commitee Monday, vowing to "return every single illegal entrant--no exceptions." Along with this laudable goal, Chertoff detailed increases in funding to fight illegal immigration, outlined problems such as "apprehensions of illegal immigrants exceed[ing] removals," and pointed to such solutions as Homeland Security eliminating "environmental challenges that had blocked completion of the 14-mile Border Infrastructure System near San Diego."

Unfortunately, Chertoff's tough talk belied the same weak policy--amnesty--the Bush Administration has been pushing on immigration for several years. Chertoff described "our overall border enforcement initiative...as a complement to the President's Temporary Worker Program." In other words, fighting illegal immigration will become a whole lot easier if we grant legal status to the illegals currently in the United States. A few hours after Chertoff highlighted the "get tough" aspects of border control, President Bush signed the Homeland Security's 2006 appropriations and remarked: "enforcement cannot work unless it is part of a larger comprehensive immigration reform program." And what would that "comprehensive immigration reform program" consist of? As President Bush sees it, "a temporary worker program that gives those workers we need a legal, honest way to come into our country and to return home."

"You see," the president explained, "we got people sneaking into our country to work. They want to provide for their families. Family values do not stop at the Rio Grande River. People are coming to put food on the table. But because there is no legal way for them to do so, through a temporary worker program, they're putting pressure on our border." Translation? President Bush believes the problem is our laws and not those who break them.

The problem is neither the laws or those who break them but an economy that depends on cheap labor and consumers that demand cheap goods and services. In a post-9/11 world, "Expel All Illegals" makes for a good sound bite, but as policy it would have severe impacts on our economy.

If we can't secure our borders, we can't protect our domestic security. All of the money and federal programs that our pols come up with to throw at the problem won't help.

On a related note, we here in the Republic of Mass. have a new welfare class on the roles with our 'boatlift' of N.O. evacuees. And I read yesterday that they can't get anybody to clean up the mess in the Big Easy but Mexican workers.

The Great Society working at its finest.