On July 3, 1984, the Wall Street Journal Editorial Page published an editorial called In Praise of Huddled Masses, which proposed an amendment to the Constitution: "There shall be open borders."

It pulled out all the economic and sentimental clichés about immigration—and completely ignored the realities of immigrant crime, immigrant welfare, etc.

In passing, it attacked Senator Alan Simpson, (R-Wyoming) co-sponsor, with Rep. Romano Mazzoli, (D.-Kentucky) of the Simpson-Mazzoli bill, without actually naming him. "[T]the 'nativist' Americans who still dominate Mountain States politics" is how the WSJ put it.

Two years later, Michael Kinsley was saying they hadn't gone far enough.

"But the Journal's hypocrisy is in concluding that, therefore, nothing needs to be done. As the conservative mantra goes, 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it.' The Journal once, in passing, proposed a constitutional amendment saying, 'There shall be open borders,' but immediately called its own proposal 'overly ambitious.' Its general position is that we should 'leave bad enough alone.'" An Open U.S. Door for Both Political and Economic Refugees By Michael Kinsley. Wall Street Journal Apr 3, 1986.

Throughout the rest of the Nineties, the WSJ recycled this editorial four more times, enough that it became a tradition:

• The Rekindled Flame, Jul 3, 1986. Compared the Border Patrol to Darth Vader: "A recent news photo depicted the guards wearing helmets equipped with infrared telescopes to better track today's tired and poor. The question for this Independence Day is which symbol more accurately represents this country's attitude toward the modern equivalent of our desperate immigrant forbears — the Statue of Liberty or the Darth Vaders trying to 'get control of our borders'?"

• Simpson-Volstead-Mazzoli, Jul 3, 1987 Compared border control to Prohibition: "'We have lost control of our borders.' Nativist Americans cried that loud enough to obtain a new law. Immigrants, they wailed, were swarming over the Mexican border. They were taking jobs. They were a burden to the people of this country. Congress passed Simpson-Mazzoli-Rodino and Ronald Reagan signed it last November."

• The Rekindled Flame, Jul 3, 1989 Opened with the Emma Lazarus poem, and still doesn't like the Border Patrol: "Yet other, less noble images lurk in the background of our July 4th celebrations: the guards who patrol our 2,000-mile border with Mexico; news photos of rickety wooden boats, laden with Vietnamese, sitting in the harbors of Hong Kong."

• The Rekindled Flame, Jul 3, 1990 The same again, but this time they added a pseudo-civil rights note: "…Reports by government agencies that the nation's immigration law has indeed caused widespread hiring discrimination against non-whites."

Then, for some reason, the WSJ stopped—for ten years. No one knows why.

With the election of Presidents Bush, (Norte Nafta) America, and Fox, (Nafta del Sud) and the possibility of a huge amnesty, the WSJ started again, with signed pieces by the late, lamented, Robert L. Bartley.

• Thinking Things Over: Liberty's Flame Beckons a Bit Brighter, By Robert L. Bartley.  Jul 3, 2000

• Thinking Things Over: Open Nafta Borders? Why Not? By Robert L. Bartley.

But that was the last time this peculiar constitutional amendment was mentioned in the WSJ.

This time, we know why. September 11, 2001 made the idea of Open Borders so obviously dangerous that they didn't think they could possibly get away with it.

They're still in there plugging for cheap labor, though. As recently as June 20, Tamar Jacoby was trying to push amnesty by telling amnesty pushers they needed to change the name. ["Getting Beyond the 'A-Word']

We do have our own Independence Day editorials here at VDARE.com, you can read them below.

On the other hand, you could go enjoy yourself.

The day after the Declaration of Independence was proclaimed, John Adams said this:

"The fourth of July, 1776, will be a memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe it will be celebrated by succeeding generations, as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to Almighty God. It ought to be solemnized with pomp, shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations this from one end of the continent to the other, from this time forward forever."

He was right. Go prove it.

Vdare.com's Independence Day columns:

View From Lodi, CA: It's the Bombe—An Independence Day Ice Cream Extravaganza!!

July 04, 2003 On Independence Day: Fly The Flag – But Defend The Nation

July 03, 2004 A Patriotic Hispanic Reflects On Independence Day

July 03, 2001 - Wall Street Journal: Independence Day Means Immigration!

July 04, 2002 - Immigration Day?

July 03, 2004 Jack Kemp vs. George Washington On Independence Day

July 04, 2001 Patriotic Bore

July 02, 2004 View From Lodi, CA: Pass Up The Politicians This Independence Day