Let's get this one right

If only we were all as sensible as Bill O'Reilly.\nNo, really. I'm not joking.\nAmid this much-needed immigration debate, so many solutions are being tossed around that Americans are left spinning in dizzy circles wondering what the hell is going on. Terms like amnesty, guest-worker program and "catch-and-release" aren't helping matters, either.\nLeave it to old Bill to help us out.\nAfter reviewing the U.S. House's plan, the Senate Judiciary Committee's recommendations and the president's proposal, I wondered what my pal Bill thought of the situation. And he actually has the best ideas I've heard so far.\nFirst, O'Reilly suggested the National Guard be deployed to back up the U.S. Border Patrol. Why? The number of illegal immigrants crossing the U.S.-Mexican border would decline and there would be no need for a multimillion-dollar wall, which some House members actually believe in erecting. Plus, National Guardsmen's salaries are already paid for by the government, and utilizing them instead of hiring more Border Patrol would be fiscally sound. \nSecond, O'Reilly calls for an end to the "catch-and-release" program, which is pretty much a joke. The current policy is when illegal immigrants are caught, they are "released" to leave the country on their own accord. Obviously this hasn't worked, and we now have almost 12 million illegal immigrants living here today.\nThird, and perhaps most important, is Bill's assimilation program. He proposes to give illegal residents 60 days (I prefer 90) to register as foreign residents without penalty. These "registered foreign residents" would receive temporary working papers and be fined $3,000 for their crime over the next three years' worth of paychecks. Failure to register by a certain date would be a felony and would mean deportation. After three years, these residents can apply for citizenship, though it will not be guaranteed. They stand in line like everyone else.\nAt the end of his proposal, O'Reilly, shrugging, predicted Congress won't be as reasonable as him and the complicated debate would rage on ... complicatedly. \nOf course it will. Right now, all politicians are concerned with something other than the long-term effects of new immigration legislation -- they're concerned with how it will affect their chances at re-election in 2006 or their presidential prospects in 2008. At a time like this, when we need bipartisanship, swift action and comprehensive, intelligent legislation more than ever, it seems as if the country is completely politically distracted. To call it unfortunate is a gross understatement.\nLook, don't discount my perspective because I'm a white girl who lives in Indiana. My family came over from Greece in the 1930s, but they came over the right, lawful way. The courage of my great-grandparents, Theofilos and Maria Galoozis, will never be forgotten. I've seen the effects of immigration then, and I see it now. My father once lost his job because a General Electric plant moved to Mexico. My mother, a fifth-grade teacher in Palatine, Ill., deals with Mexican immigrants every day because she teaches them. \nWith this debate, a lot is at stake for a lot of Americans -- whether you're a citizen or not. For our generation's sake, let's get this one right.