It is shameful how both parties, the Republicans and Democrats, handled the debate in Congress before the recent spring recess. The House moved in one direction, coming out with a strong bill that focused on sealing the country's borders and punishing those who had slipped in. The Senate was discussing a far more lenient approach. Some of the senators, perhaps a majority, were close to a compromise, which, at the last minute fell apart for reasons that are completely unclear. The only conclusion that emerges from this debate was that both political parties were seeking to gain some political advantage, or more precisely not face a setback as a result of the position that they took.

I didn't fully appreciate the seriousness of this problem until about a year ago when I was being interviewed on a morning show in Phoenix, Arizona. The subject of the interview was my novel Spy Dance, which deals with Saudi Arabian oil, and the United States' vulnerability to foreign oil producers. The discussion with the interviewer was going along very well until midway through the interview when I said that I thought this country's oil crisis was the most serious problem facing the United States. At that point the talk show host said he respectfully disagreed. As far as he was concerned (and most other people in the Phoenix area, he claimed) this country's biggest problem was immigration and illegal immigrants.

What is crystal clear is that this country faces two major problems that are interrelated. The first is what to do about the future flow of immigrants across the border with Mexico. Do we continue to have a situation in which there is a relatively unencumbered free flow, or does this country take steps to seal that border? The second is what should be done about the eleven-or twelve-million illegals already in this country.

The first issue is a no brainer. The United States absolutely must seal its border with Mexico. The technology exists. We can build a fence. We can build a double fence. We can have electronic sensors on top of the fence. The problem can be remedied very easily. We can have mobile patrols within the areas between the two fences. This is not a serious technology problem as the Israelis have demonstrated with the fence that they have built to separate Israel from the Palestinians and avoid terrorists' attacks.

This is not to say that we should not admit to the United States people coming from the south who have skills and abilities that would benefit the United States. However, people coming from the south should be considered for immigration along with people coming from Asia or from Europe. This country should have a rational decision making process to determine who comes into the country, from what places and in what numbers. To simply abdicate decision-making and leave it up to those who are skillful enough to slip into the United States is a preposterous situation for a country supposedly under the rule of law.

The harder problem is what to do about those who are already in this country. There is no doubt that many American employers are utilizing valuable labor from illegals, who are fulfilling a significant role in United States agriculture, construction, restaurants, and a number of other industries. In addition, there is a human aspect to the problem. We are a country that prides itself on our sense of fairness and justice. To have permitted people to come into this country to work and make a life for themselves and their families, and then suddenly turn around and change our approach to law enforcement is patently unfair. The Senate compromise to which senators on both sides of the aisle agreed would have permitted the vast majority to work toward U.S. citizenship. This is a very reasonable compromise.

The obvious approach is to incorporate the solution to both problems in the same legislation. It is truly unfortunate that our legislators are unwilling to put aside their short-term political benefits, or at least what they perceive them to be. This issue will determine the fate and character of the United States for decades to come. The time has come for the people sent to Washington to stand up and do what is right for this country and not merely be guided by what will get the most votes in November.