To the Point

Politics, Economics, Religion and Illegal Immigration

The illegal immigration debate has divided the nation, and might produce the next confrontation between President Bush and his party in Congress. One side wants a guest-worker program to guarantee a source of cheap labor; the other wants to fence off the Mexican border and pass laws that might turn doctors, social workers and priests into "human traffickers." The nonpartisan Pew Hispanic Center reports that there are currently some 12 million "unauthorized migrants" in the US, 4 million more than just 5 years ago; more than 7 million of those are working. Can the White House and Congress agree on measures that will stem the tide or is the northward flow of humanity as irresistible as a tidal wave? Making News: Moussaoui Sentencing Trial Halted, AgainThe death-penalty case against confessed al Qaeda conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui is in serious trouble. Federal Judge Leonie Brinkema told jurors today that federal prosecutors coached witnesses in violation of her direct order. She said it's the second government error that threatens the rights of the defendant and the rity of the criminal justice system" as Jerry Markon reports in the Washington Post.Reporter's Notebook: The Death of Slobodan MilosevicMurder and suicide have both been mentioned in the death of Slobodan Milosevic on Saturday. Whatever the circumstances, his five-year trial for genocide, ethnic cleansing and other war crimes has ended without a verdict. What does that mean for Serbia, where Milosevic still has supporters, even though he was forced out of office? What does the lengthy spectacle mean for the UN's war crimes tribunal? Marcus Tanner, author of Croatia: A Nation Forged in War, reported from Serbia for the Independent newspaper during six years of war.