Dear editor, The “comprehensive immigration reform plan,” worked out secretly by the staff of the White House and Senate, was a fraud meant to deceive the American people.

It is an elaborate Ponzi scheme of proposals — none of which would secure the border or deal effectively with 15 million to 20 million illegal aliens who are already inside the country. It actually reduces the border fence from 800 miles to 200 miles in length. America doesn’t need an immigration reform bill — America needs immigration enforcement.

Instead, this Bush-Kennedy bill would grant amnesty to illegal immigrants and eventually make them eligible for welfare, Social Security, Medicare and other government benefits. Senior research fellow Robert Rector of the Heritage Foundation gave a preliminary estimate of the per-person cost to taxpayers of giving amnesty to 12 million illegal immigrants — a whopping $400,000 per person over the average life span and age of entry for the illegal immigrant. Rector called the bill “a blank check to illegal immigrants written at taxpayer expense.” Again, Heritage did something the Senate refused to do: Think critically.

The reason this bill does not address enforcement of our current immigration law is given in section 413. It states, “It is the sense of Congress that the United States and Mexico should accelerate the implementation of the Partnership for Prosperity to help generate economic growth and improve the standard of living in Mexico.” This Security and Prosperity Partnership program, launched in 2005 by President Bush, Mexico’s President Fox and Canada’s Prime Minister Martin, issued 300 initiatives, none of which was ever approved or even seen by Congress. The purpose of which is to eliminate our borders and establish a North American Union under international law. This hidden agenda within the bill gives credentials to this unconstitutional SPP and would destroy our national independence.

America has borders and laws for a reason. If the willful disregard of both by iIIegals is to be rewarded at taxpayer expense while legal Americans are punished (often by imprisonment) for the least infraction of drug dealing or criminal trespass — then America indeed has gone to hell.

America needs you to call your senators and express your outrage over this amnesty bill, both in principle and in practical costs to the American people. Sen. Boxer’s phone number is (202) 224-3553, and Sen. Feinstein’s number is (202) 224-3841. Because it is sometimes a wait on the phone line, a faster method is to fax in a message. Feinstein’s fax is (202) 228-3954, and Boxer’s fax is (415) 956-6701.

Libby Rose / Napa