Or so the headline would have read for the follow-up to this nonsense that I heard on NPR yesterday. I noted that NPR called the illegal immigrants "asylum seekers". Nice euphemism.

Yes, it was another story about how innocent Pakistanis were fleeing the U.S. because the INS was asking them to register (here's a Washington Post story on the subject). But then, the big-bad U.S. forced the Canadians to tighten up their immigration policies, so they turned away the poor Pakistanis.

But the requirement is not for those with Green Cards or resident status. It's for those here on temporary visas, student and work visas. Dear god, the inhumanity! If you're visiting our country, we'd like you to check in.

In the wake of 9/11, should our government not be checking up on people with temporary visas? What the hell do they expect us to do, loosen our immigration policies?

During the 90s, an average of about 1.3 million people (legal and illegal) immigrated to the U.S.

Compare that with Canada (with an average of about 200,000 immigrants per year for the same time period). Or Europe. The total numbers don't even compare with the U.S. in terms of immigration. For example, in 1997, Germany experienced a net loss of non-nationals. That's right, more people emigrated than immigrated.

So it's not like we're ready to take down the Statue of Liberty or anything. We welcome immigrants to this country. It's the lifeblood of our society. But all we ask is that you check in when you get here, that you want to actually be a part of society, work hard, and contribute to making America better.

Is that too damn much to ask?