As our nation falls victim to a rising wave of violence involving unvetted migrants scattered in unknown places throughout the continental states, shouldn’t we ask ourselves if the fundamental crime is opening the border virtually without restriction? The “newcomers” have little familiarity with our geography, limited working knowledge of English, few if any U.S. relatives or friends, minimal incentive to seek employment, and problematic respect for justice. Whatever we may think about their impact on our culture, hasn’t an inviting welcome mat really been a humanistic disservice to them? It’s bad enough historically to have legalized “drive-in-citizenship” for American-born children of foreign parentage. That pales before a rip tide of undocumented invaders lured by the unadvertised prospect of a “path to citizenship.” This implicit policy is akin to leaving the doors of your home wide open and expecting no one to take undue advantage of such offensive defense. Americans deserve better. Our self-inflicted wound now pits federal government immigration policy against a growing number of besieged state administrations confronted by the fact that they have unwittingly become “border” states. This dangerous threat to our 50-state union should become the force that can unite us - in spirit if not politically. Phil Osifer