I'm glad to see that 2008 has picked up where 2007 left off, with liberal legislators wasting no time cooking up harebrained schemes that waste their time and our money.

Assemblyman Tony Mendoza (D-Norwalk) has authored Assembly Bill 2826, a measure that seeks to place an advisory question on the November general election ballot asking "whether the President and the Congress of the United States shall create a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who have worked in this country for at least 5 years, have no felony convictions, have learned to speak English, and have paid all taxes for which they are responsible."

You might remember the old "advisory election" ploy from last year, when Senator Don Perata sought to place a question about ending the Iraq War on the special election ballot.  It was a not-so-subtle attempt to increase Democrat turnout in a last-ditch effort to hoodwink Californians into passing Proposition 93.  People argued (and the Governor agreed, in his veto message) that an advisory election was unnecessary for two reasons -- because polls already showed the overwhelming opinion of Californians, and because there are already avenues in place for the people of California to make their voices heard by Congress.

The same arguments are bound to doom this measure.  We already know that the people of California want the federal government to address the immigration problem.  These same people have the opportunity to contact their federal representatives directly -- not through some meaningless referendum that amounts to nothing more than an opinion poll administered at taxpayer expense.

Furthermore, a "pathway to citizenship" already exists.  There are legal avenues by which immigrants can become citizens.  AB 2826 makes about as much sense as asking Californians to weigh in on whether women should have the right to vote.

Now, I appreciate that Mr. Mendoza probably has a pretty full plate with all the meaningful legislation he's moving -- after all, trans fats aren't going to ban themselves -- so he may not be completely up to speed on what the federal government has been up to for the last half-century.  I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it appears that someone beat him to the punch.

That's right, somebody else already had the idea that the federal government should create a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.  Long before Mr. Mendoza was dreaming up the idea of creating a special fund for low cost and no cost spay/neuter services, Senator Pat McCarran (D-Nevada) and Congressman Francis Walter (D-Pennsylvania) were tackling the immigration issue with the same ferocity that modern day politicians might use in addressing forced sterilization of pets.

I don't know how much free time he has (expanding state preschool programs is certainly time-consuming), but Mr. Mendoza might take a look at the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952; or perhaps the amendments to the INA, which were passed in 1965.  These laws provide the framework for legal immigration into the United States -- a pathway to citizenship, if you will.  Is it as broad a path as he might like?  Probably not.  But a sensible immigration policy is not one that forces America to take all comers.

Senator McCarran's 1953 assessment of U.S. immigration policy rings especially true today:

"I believe that this nation is the last hope of Western civilization and if this oasis of the world shall be overrun, perverted, contaminated, or destroyed, then the last flickering light of humanity will be extinguished.

"I take no issue with those who would praise the contributions which have been made to our society by people of many races, of varied creeds and colors.  America is indeed a joining together of many streams which go to form a mighty river which we call the American way.  However, we have in the United States today hard-core, indigestible blocs which have not become integrated into the American way of life, but which, on the contrary are its deadly enemies.

"Today, as never before, untold millions are storming our gates for admission and those gates are cracking under the strain.  The solution of the problems of Europe and Asia will not come through a transplanting of those problems en masse to the United States.

"I do not intend to become prophetic, but if the enemies of this legislation succeed in riddling it to pieces, or in amending it beyond recognition, they will have contributed more to promote this nation's downfall than any other group since we achieved our independence as a nation."

Holding an advisory election to encourage the federal government to adopt an amnesty program makes a mockery of the electoral process, wastes taxpayer time and money, and is a slap in the face to the millions of legal immigrants who have complied with federal immigration law and are proud to call themselves Americans.

I suggest that Mr. Mendoza find something better to do with his time in the legislature.