Ten minutes to write. Less time to read.

Maybe I have my head in the sand when it comes to the topic of illegal immigration. I understand the problem is complex and so, by default, must be the solution. What I don’t understand is how some politicians — including the President — and some talk show hosts are saying illegal immigration is the Number One concern of the “American people.” (This phrase bugs me, but that’s another blog.)

I heard the President’s advance men say it today. I heard Bill O’Reilly repeat it just a few minutes ago. And tonight President Bush is commandeering national television to speak to us all about his plans to curb future illegal immigration and deal fairly with those illegals who are already here. I suspect he’ll refer to the concern of the “American people” as the reason for promoting his plans.

Illegal immigration is an important subject. But it’s been around forever and previous administrations have tried their hands at restricting it. Amnesty programs, border crack-downs, and legislation prohibiting employers from hiring illegals have all had their days. Most have met with limited success. This makes me wonder how much interest and/or support the “American people” really have in restricting who gets in here.

Frankly, I believe the “American people” are more concerned with the increasingly higher price of gasoline or the increasingly higher price of interest rates or the increasingly higher human price of the occupation in Iraq. Whether we’re in the struggling or comfortable zones of the financial bell curve, these issues are what my friends mention even on a casual level. Where we used to talk about the weather, we now talk about the price of a gallon at the pump, and even the observation that a gallon of bottled water costs more than a gallon of gasoline doesn’t soothe the situation.

Maybe illegal immigration is the Number Five or Number Twelve concern of the You-Know-Who. But it’s not Number One. And if anybody out there wants to offer a personal opinion on what is, please email me directly at anne@annebrandt.com. I’ll follow up with a report in this blog.