While little old ladies flying to the next state to see their grandchildren can now expect to have their knitting needles impounded by airport security staff, vigilance is about to be relaxed on our nation's borders, at least for one favored class of foreigners

National Review, April 5, 2004

* While little old ladies flying to the next state to see their grandchildren can now expect to have their knitting needles impounded by airport security staff, vigilance is about to be relaxed on our nation's borders, at least for one favored class of foreigners. This is an outcome of George W. Bush's meeting with "our good friend" President Vicente Fox of Mexico at the Crawford ranch in early March.

A new measure will allow millions of Mexicans to cross the border into our country without being fingerprinted and photographed by U.S. authorities. Bush, perhaps gun-shy after the storm of Republican opposition to his January immigration proposals, allowed Fox to announce the change. Fox did so with the best grace he could muster, having hoped for much more. The Mexican government is now an aggressive lobbyist on behalf of its nationals illegally resident in the U.S., with a government department, the Instituto de los Mexicanos en el Exterior, entirely devoted to this lobbying effort, concentrating particularly on winning U.S. welfare benefits for illegals. Perhaps, before granting any more favors to Mexico, someone in authority in the U.S. should tell them to stop meddling in our national affairs.