For the sake of discussion, let's leave aside the question of whether it's right to reward lawbreakers by allowing them to stay, while those who follow the rules must wait permission to come here. What will be the effect of creating a "path to citizenship" for the estimated 10-12 million illegal aliens in America? How will that affect our economy and culture? It seems that most people advocating amnesty -- whatever they call it to soften the blow -- refuse to look at the consequences. It's worth the risk of being called "anti-immigrant" to examine the real impact of absorbing so many people at once. 
 
The Senate may pass the McCain-Kennedy "comprehensive" bill that includes giving legal status to illegal immigrants already in the US. President Bush also speaks of a "comprehensive" bill to solve the problem. The number of "sudden citizens" is sure to skyrocket between the time a bill is passed and the time any security measures it includes are implemented. That's why security must be increased and the border closed to further illegal immigration before Congress considers any other aspect of the issue.
 
Even if the final version of the bill mandates building a second Great Wall of China on our southern border, by the time the first stone is placed it will already be too late. If an amnesty is passed before border security is addressed, the result will be a tidal wave of humanity rushing to bypass the immigration process. If you think illegal immigration is a problem now, just wait until millions more walk, run, crawl, drive, swim and dig their way inside our borders. If there is no real penalty for being in the US illegally, there's no reason for people to wait years for permission to come here. In fact, amnesty would make anyone who obeys the law look like a fool.
 
The moment illegal workers are given any sort of legal status, prices will rise just as surely as though they were all deported. Employers will no longer be able to pay illegals low wages. Even then, the majority of former illegals will continue to take low-paying jobs, which will have a direct impact on the number of jobs available to other Americans. Unemployment rates will escalate. Those who earn low wages don't pay income taxes, which punctures the argument that America would benefit by way of increased tax revenue. Instead, demand for government services from the formerly illegal immigrants will increase dramatically, from schooling to unemployment to welfare and Social Security. 
 
I can't imagine Congress voting down a bill extending Social Security or Medicare benefits to the elderly who, having been illegal, never paid into the system. Politicians who lack the backbone to enforce our immigration laws for fear of losing Hispanic votes would certainly pass such a bill for the same reason. In fact, the "Hispanic lobby" may become the most powerful group in Washington.
 
Millions of new voters will cause an orgy of pandering across the  nation. Democrats, of course, will campaign based on whatever goodies they can offer the new voters on the public dime. Republicans will appeal to their mostly Catholic background, reminding them that Democrats generally favor abortion, gay "marriage" and other issues that generally irritate the religious. Every bill introduced in Congress for the next ten years will contain some kind of pork specifically aimed at Hispanics... or perhaps we should call it "puerco."

The question of whether millions of sudden citizens will become assimilated into American culture is moot. Political correctness prevents us from assimilating anyone anymore. Members of every ethnic and racial group are encouraged to cling to their separate identities rather than consider themselves Americans. No one who has seen illegal immigrants marching with Mexican flags and banners reading "This Is Stolen Land" and "This Is Our Continent, Not Yours" can possibly wonder whether illegal immigrants think of themselves as Americans. (Hint: no.) Before long, we'll be treated to Hispanic versions of Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton -- people who gain power and money from inciting racial tensions.

Multiculturalism (or self-segregation) plus expectations of government largesse plus race-baiting attention seekers is a certain recipe for problems such as the Parisian riots of last November. There, angry young Muslims who identified with racial and religious groups instead of their country rioted for weeks. If we simply hand illegal immigrants citizenship without some effort at assimilation, the next march of 500,000 we face won't be so peaceful.