It is a good idea to strengthen the INS, but the first step would be for the existing INS to do their jobs, which they are not.

This must be done, and it will help.

I think they should get rid for it and let the military take over. You can put you head in the sand but it is still an invasion.

Well now, the problem with this is that there is no INS anymore. It used to reside in the Justice Department, but has been reborn, over in the Department of Homeland Security (which, of course, places it squarely under the authority of the Executive Branch) under the guise of ICE (Immigration & Customs Enforcement), the CBP (Customs and Border Protection) and the USCIS (US Citizenship and Immigration Service). Here's what I find funny. The democrats, who throw every convenient, light-headed, emotionally-laden, negative issue at their hated enemy (GWB), miss with nearly every stone they throw. And here is a valid issue where the Executive Branch is so over their head with a new responsibility that our society is truly threatened from within, and the democrats are railing about Abu Graib, the "illegal" (unconstitutional would be a more appropriate description, if it were correct) spying on domestic terrorist abettors, the UEA Ports deal (which Bill Clinton is an unregistered lobbyist for!) and Cynthia McKinney's right to violate the security procedures at the Capitol Building and the racial profiling of black congressmen, and what is the democrats response to an enormous epidemic of illegal aliens? Their response to the problem we all acknowledge? "Forget about the laws that have been violated, grant all people in the US illegally amnesty, fine them a thousand dollars and (whatever you do) don't do anything to change the process. " Republicans are just as responsible and just as culpable for their silence on this issue. This is a failure of our goverment to fulfill even the minimum of its obligations. The INS was bad enough. The DHS is failing in nearly every one of its responsibilities and all the inept opposition party can say is "Bush Sucks. " How difficult would it be, for the minority party, to take the single, juiciest, most emotional issue away from the republicans by pointing out the laundry list of failures of the Department of Homeland Security and how their failures have placed the security of every US citizen in greater danger, then outline a plan that implies, "we're the big government people. And couldn't we do THAT better? "