Tony Blair proposes to restrict the number of immigrants and asylum-seekers that Britain will welcome, and to get serious about enforcement. This is "moving Labour to the Right on immigration" and a wise policy.

Tom Tancredo proposes to enforce the existing restrictions on the number of immigrants that America will welcome. This is an unwise policy and may derive from sinister motives.

George Bush proposes to continue not to enforce existing restrictions on the number of immigrants America will welcome, and indeed to increase vastly the number of immigrants (guest workers, call them what you will) that America will welcome. This is "importing Christians from Latin America" and a wise policy.

What am I missing? Is it that a higher proportion of immigrants to America than to Britain are Christian?

Let me preface by saying that I am not an 'open borders' advocate but I think you miss the point.

1. Britain is not America. Britain has double digit unemployment and is, as Helmut Kohl said famously about Germany, not an 'immigration country.' America OTOH is an 'immigration country.' We are not founded on some shared ethnicity, the ancestors of the vast majority of Americans were not running around the forests of Franconia chasing wildlife and worshipping tree spirits nor were they like 'nos ancetres les gaulois' all blond-haired and blue eyed. Instead we are and have always been an ethnic and racial hodgepodge united by a common world view, not a common bloodline.

2. The 'immigration story' is an integral part of our history. When most Americans see people crossing the Rio Grande looking for opportunity or standing on a streetcorner waiting for a subcontractor to hire them for day work, we see our grandparents and greatgrandparents, people who make enormous sacrifices so their kids and grandkids can have a better life.

3. Immigration exists to benefit the nation to which the immigrants come, it is not some social service for the benefit of the immigrants. The reality is that in America there are lots of jobs that pay minimum wage or less which native-born Americans do not wish to do. If we were to close the borders to the illegals, our vegetables, our restaurant meals, our home repairs, and our landscaping bills would go through the roof. That is certainly the case in NJ.

4. Some immigrants are better than others. We should be encouraging people to come who want to work and/or have skills the economy needs. A point system like Australia and New Zealand is a good idea, as is a 'yacht people' program to get rich people from abroad to come here and invest. The guy who cleans my suits and the guy who sells me my eggs, Asian spices and produce are both Korean immigrants. So what? We have a right as a nation to pick and choose among immigrants and a policy which favors Christians over non-Christians is not a terrible idea for a country that is 90+% Christian. An immigration policy that would provide a virtual open door to Jewish engineers from Russia and Hindu software designers isn't a bad idea because they would add to the nation's wealth and enhance its defense capacity. I would also hasten to remind you that, according to Michael Barone, the three congressional districts with the highest rate of military enlistment are three majority Hispanic ones around LA.

5. Bringing in immigrants does not mean you have to take in every Tom, Dick and Mohammed. You make choices. Some countries export terrorists like Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and the so-called 'Palestine.' We can and should reasonably bar immigrants from these countries unless their admittance meets the 'damn good reason' standard. A Chinese or Hindu fleeing Muslim persecution in Indonesia or a Christian fleeing the Middle East certainly meet the 'damn good reason' standard.

Random:

And that the Brits have stopped breeding. A dying people can't afford immigration.

Bart:

Yes, that's the point. They're doomed.

"Britain has double digit unemployment.."
It was 4.8 percent last time I looked in The Economist. But perhaps you've seen more recent figures.