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The illegal aliens will not get their citizenship in at least 10 years from now. They need to go back to their home country to apply for a Green Card where the process take 4 to 5 years to get it, then they need to stay on the Green Card for another five years to apply for a citizenship, then they need to wait a year or more to get the citizenship after the application.

The vast majority of the illegal immigrants will not take the risks described above, but they will be more than happy to just get a working visa where they can work and go back and forth to their country without being deported.

I am not in the mood to get into any arguments, but I will offer these observations:

1. The Iraqi supplemental is for the current fiscal year. The Congress is way behind in its responsibility. The money in the bill is for this fiscal year ending September 30. How much is allowed to be carried over is a question. It is very unlikely that the RATS will allow a dime to be spent after October 1. Remember aid to the Contras and the Boland Amendment?

2. Whether the illegals become citizens next year or ten years from now is highly irrelevant. Once they are citizens, they will vote 3:1 Democratic. This bill is political suicide for the GOP. Moreover, once the RATS have the White House and both congressional chambers in 2009, they will amend the Immigration bill to wave all the procedural safeguards in which you take comfort. With all due respect, in my view your position is highly naive from a political standpoint. No good immigration public policy should proceed until our borders are demonstrably sealed. If Senator Domenici apparently agrees with this assertion, then it is not necessary to go beyond a borders-only bill at this time. The liberals are being disingenuous at best if they state that enforcement must come first. They don’t give a damn about enforcement; indeed it is contrary to their political interests.

vast majority of the illegal aliens will not take the risks described above

You are right about the fact they will not take the risk to get a green card and eventually citizenship. In fact, the vast majority of them will not wish to take that risk now or at any later date, especially if they have to pay fines and fees. They will continue in their current illegal non-resident status just as they did after the first 'comprehensive immigration reform' bill, the Hart-Celler Immigration Bill which was signed into law by President Johnson in 1965. That bill when signed into law wiped out the quota system that had been in place since 1921, with some modifications that occurred in 1952. Subsequent actions in 1986 substantially increased the level of immigration, by providing amnesty and temporary status to all illegal aliens who had lived in the USA continuosly since before Jan. 1, 1982, plus a separate lenient amnesty for farmworkers. A modification in 1990 to the 1965 act increased the number of legal immigrants to 700,000 and visas by 40%. Here are some familiar names who voted for or against that bill in 1965. For: Sen. Edward Kennedy. He ushered the bill through the Senate. For: Robert Dole (R-KS), (202) 224-6521. Then a Congressman. Against: Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV) For: Sen. Albert Gore Sr., the former VP's father For: President Gerald Ford, then a Congressman For: Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-MI) For: Rep. Henry Gonzalez (D-TX) Against: Rep. James Quillen (R-TN) Against: Rep. E. (Kika) de la Garza (D-TX).