To the Point

The Politics of Immigration

Four years after September 11, President Bush is walking a tightrope on immigration, one of America's most basic and emotional issues. At the Mexican border with Texas today, he promised to crackdown at the border at the same time he invited illegal immigrants to be part of what he calls a "guest worker" program. According to recent polls, the President's call for action comes none too soon. Is the President's promise one of "comprehensive reform" or a contradiction? Is there any hope for political consensus? Warren Olney discusses national security, human rights, social services--and cheap labor--with pollsters, experts in trade policy and immigration. Making News: Buying Influence: Congressman Cunningham's Confession The biggest bribery case to hit Congress in 20 years raises troubling questions about the way public money is allocated to defense contractors. California Republican Randy "Duke" Cunningham has confessed to accepting $2.4 million and evading $1 million in taxes. The decorated Vietnam-War fighter pilot and eight-term Congressman accepted bribes that included Persian carpets, silver candelabras, travel expenses and even a Rolls Royce. David Hawkings is Managing Editor at Congressional Quarterly. Reporter-s Notebook: Pentagon Briefing on IraqThere have been more calls in Washington for pulling out of Iraq or at least a timetable for withdrawing. President Bush will make a speech on this subject tomorrow. There's speculation that he's trying to prepare the country for that possibility, but today he didn't sound that way. Secretary Rumsfeld also said today that we should be consider the progress Iraqis are making in forming security forces. Jonathan Landay is senior national security correspondent for Knight Ridder.