Hyphenated Americans

On June 23, the Supreme Court refused to take up the appeal lodged by environmental groups that focused on a two-mile stretch of border fence in the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area near Naco, Ariz. The fence, which has been built since the petition was filed, is a vital part of the Bush administration's drive to secure the border between the United States and Mexico. The Supreme Court's decision is a welcome and needed victory in the war against illegal immigration and efforts to preserve the unique character that is America.

The environmentalists based part of their challenge on claims the fence would harm the mating habits of two types of wildcats. To them, it is more important to allow wildcats to procreate than to control our borders and demand that everyone who comes here obey our laws.

In a book to be published July 7, The New Case Against Immigration: Both Legal and Illegal, Mark Krikorian argues that the real problem with all immigrants is not them, but us. Unlike immigrants who have come before and were expected to assimilate, learn English, and embrace American history and culture, today's immigrants come to an America characterized by identity politics, political correctness, and Great Society programs. As a result, he writes, too many are encouraged-through the internet and cheap international phone service-to lead "transnational lives," thus foiling the best efforts to make them part of us, rather than half and hyphenated Americans who remain strongly tied to their countries of origin.

Krikorian is a grandson of Armenian immigrants and he says America is not the country it was when his grandfather arrived. If we don't change, he says, it won't be a country worth handing over to future generations.

-© 2008 Tribune Media Services, Inc.