Despite the election year, the Bush Administration appears to be lurching blindly toward another illegal alien amnesty—possibly based on the disastrous "guest-worker" Arizona Amnesty plan.

So more than ever before, the patriotic American citizen will be the country's last line of defense in 2004.

Crucial voter initiatives against illegal alien entitlements in California (search: "save187") and Arizona (search: "pan2004") will soon take center stage. But whether these campaigns gain enough signatures, volunteers and money depends on all of us.

Yes, that means you, my dear VDARE.COM reader!

Citizen activism is the only hope for stopping the illegal alien amnesty juggernaut, and bringing the issue of real immigration reform into the November elections. So now is the time to get involved.

VDARE.COM's own columnist Joe Guzzardi already predicted the coming immigration reform gunfight of 2004, especially in his home state of California. Guzzardi wrote:

"We're smoking mad in California, that's for sure. And we're fighting back where it matters the most — with our voices and our votes . . . California is the immigration enthusiasts' weak point — because we can take issues directly to the people through the initiative process."

Meanwhile, at the Virginia-based NumbersUSA, executive director Roy Beck stressed how essential citizen activism already has been in holding the federal government in check.

In a recent e-mail to supporters entitled "Year-End Report on Immigration Reform Progress," Beck wrote:

"The only power that kept U.S. borders intact, that protected  American workers from having to totally compete one on one with every  worker in the world for wage and conditions, that protected our communities  and open spaces from having millions upon millions of additional  residents over the next few years at a minimum, WAS TENS OF  THOUSANDS OF CITIZENS, EACH TAKING INDIVIDUAL ACTIONS ONE BY ONE AND CUMULATIVELY FORCING MEMBERS OF CONGRESS AND THE PRESIDENT TO TIP-TOE THROUGH THE TULIPS THAT THEY OTHERWISE WOULD HAVE STOMPED WITH NARY A THOUGHT!"

So instead of making predictions on what's going to happen with the immigration mess in 2004, I offer a shopping list of New Year's resolutions for patriotic citizen activists:

• Support the Arizona Taxpayer Citizen Protection Act—Protect Arizona Now (PAN). This initiative petition (# I-03-2004) amends the Arizona statutes to require proof of citizenship when registering to vote, proof of identity when voting, and proof of eligibility for non-federally mandated public benefits. Search "pan2004" for more information.

• Support the California Save Our State initiative—the "son of Prop. 187."  This initiative amends the California state constitution to require public benefit providers to verify eligibility under federal law, mandatory reporting of immigration law violations, verification of lawful presence and identity for driver's license applications, and prohibits the acceptance of identification not issued by a state or federal jurisdiction. Search "save187" for more information.

• Report illegal aliens and criminal alien residents—Help solve the illegal immigration problem one alien at a time.

• Report tax-cheating employers who hire illegal aliens—Call the IRS hotline at 800-829-0433. You might even be rewarded for your efforts if you file an "application for reward for original information," Form 211 (PDF)—available at the IRS website, or by calling 800-829-3676.

• Be a liberty shield—Whether or not Secretario Ridge says the country is Code Orange today, follow this timely advice from Michelle Malkin.

• Be a patriot—Join and support the real immigration reform movement. Find a worthy group listed in the VDARE.COM links page, on Terry Anderson's mega-links, or through the "act now" suggestions at DeportAliens.com.

• And just for fun, don't shop on January 12, 2004, while President Bush is in Mexico.

The time to start getting involved is yesterday.

Juan Mann [send him email] is a lawyer and the proprietor of DeportAliens.com.