One thing old readers know is that when it came to illegal immigration, Bush and I parted ways. And, after eight years of trying and seeing it go down in defeat, he still doesn’t get it:

President George W. Bush told a group of Texas reporters Friday that he regretted immigration policies were not reformed while he was in office.

“I’m very disappointed that it didn’t pass,” he said in an interview with correspondents from his home state. “I’m very worried about the message that said, ‘Republicans are anti-immigrant.’”

Bush said he wanted a comprehensive immigration plan “not for political standing or for Latinos, but because it was best for the country,” the Houston Chronicle reported in its online edition Friday.

No, Mr. President, it did NOT say Republicans are anti-immigrant. It said we’re anti-ILLEGAL immigrant. Huge difference and it needs to be repeated.

Look, conservatives don’t have a single problem with immigrants, so long as they come here legally and obey the law. Bush’s plan (and that of McCain, which is a major reason I didn’t support him in the election) was to reward people who came here illegally with a little slap on the wrist and then allowing them to stay and eventually become citizens. It’s the ultimate “crime DOES pay” message. When people know they can break the law — any law — and just get a scolding (“Don’t do it again, you little rascal”), rather than an actual punishment, then they’ll break as many laws as they like.

As for immigration reform, what the President and McCain offered was not an immigration plan at all, but a plan for amnesty. If the border was secured, I would have zero problem in granting an amnesty. It’s not a perfect solution, and some would argue that it is still rewarding people who break the law. That’s a legitimate point, but I would be willing to overlook that if it meant having them out of the shadows and becoming legal, tax paying citizens.

But until the border is secured, there’s no way we could do that, much less have a discussion on any kind of reform. And the way it’s looking, any hope of border security is over, at least for the next few years. Obama and his ilk will see to that.