Wednesday, March 17, 2004 | 8:47 a.m.
Amnesties favored or granted by presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, as well as by many members of Congress, increase illegal immigration by sending the clear message to would-be illegals around the world that if they manage to sneak into the U.S., they can lay low and eventually there will be another amnesty.
Among those granted amnesty in 1986 was Ramzi Yousef, the chief conspirator in the 1993 truck bomb attack on the World Trade Center. Despite this, President Bush and congressional members of both parties are pressing for yet another amnesty.
Officials promise that this time those applying for amnesty will be carefully screened to weed out terrorists, but who realistically can have faith in such a promise?
KEN HOVEY
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