It appears that some portion of our citizenry approves granting of that status to newcomers of all backgrounds and persuasions who enter the country illegally. That group includes expectant mothers of foreign descent who happen to ‘drive in’ to a hospital immediately prior to giving birth, as with a fast-food establishment. It also involves youths and adults with unknown records of responsible or malevolent deportment in their previous jurisdictions. A surprising number of Americans appear to condone the political position that all such arrivals should be welcomed and granted the Constitutional privileges of citizenship with minimal preparatory requirements. By its staunch opposition to initiatives of the newly elected Republican administration, that is an implicit platform of the deposed Democrat party. Should citizenship be determined by birthright or subsequent behavior, earned by demonstrated disposition and conduct? The outgoing four-year administration has been responsible for about a 5% change in the composition of our population from admission of unvetted totalitarian exiles. Increasing problems of assimilation and associated deportation prompt the question of whether America has unwittingly become an entitlement haven or merely a dumping ground for unvetted miscreants. Economic growth and improved education are the best means of creating human employment for those who remain in an economy increasingly subject to artificial intelligence and robotic automation. We have serious work to do. Phil Osifer