Looking at the title of TIME magazine's special investigative report by Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele, Who Left the Door Open, I had little hope that it was anything more than the typical, immigration apologist garbage.

Undoubtedly, border agents had been treating detainees unfairly by leaving cell doors open at Border Detention Centers. No doubt fifteen Mexican nationals had caught the sniffles.

TIME would be touting the $100 million-dollar class action suit filed on behalf of the fifteen "immigrants" (a.k.a. illegal alien felons) against the U.S. government.

The article would culminate in a lecture on the virtues of diversity and human kindness. It would blame the Republicans for the whole debacle.

Bush would grovel for forgiveness at the feet of La Raza. Later in the week, Bush would send his nephew, the quasi-Hispanic Jorge P. Bush to Mexico so he can bad-mouth the U.S. immigration policy……no, wait, he did that last month.

As a final nail in the coffin, there would be a photograph of Teresa Heinz Kerry hugging (but not too closely) the fifteen Mexican "victims."

The caption beneath would read: Heinz-Kerry rushes to the aid of "her people."

Yes, all of this floated through my mind as I stood in line at a store. (I work for VDARE.COM, I have no life.)

But I happily admit that, for the second time in my life, I was wrong.

This story told the truth, I swear, about illegal immigration in America.

I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, the suspense was killing me.

And then it happened. TIME said the words I thought I'd never hear:

"Despite all the talk of homeland security, sneaking into the U.S. is scandalously easy—and on the rise. Millions of illegal aliens will pour across the U.S.-Mexican border this year, many from countries hostile to America. TIME looks at the damage, the dangers and the reasons the U.S. fails to protect itself."

Awful nice of TIME magazine to join the fight. Until now they were a big part of the problem.

The last TIME cover to feature immigration was in 1985. It was slightly different. A cliché "melting pot" photograph depicted every possible sex, color and creed. Henry Grunwald, TIME Inc's Editor In Chief and himself an immigrant, wrote:

"Every immigrant leads a double life. Every immigrant has a double identity and a double vision, being suspended between an old and a new home, an old and a new self. The very notion of a new home, of course, is in a sense as impossible as the notion of new parents. Parents are who they are; home is what it is. Home is the wallpaper above the bed, the family dinner table, the church bells in the morning, the bruised shins of the playground, the small fears that come with dusk, the streets and squares and monuments and shops that constitute one's first universe." ["Home Is Where You Are Happy", Jul. 8, 1985]

Great. Hordes of immigrants invading our country, unquestioned and unaccounted for, and we should allow it because, after all, they are just seeking a nice, cozy home.

The timing of this 1985 story was ironic. Two weeks before the release of this "ain't-diversity-grand puff piece," a dark and ominous event was recorded on TIME's cover:

Jun. 24, 1985
Terror Aboard Flight 847
Muslim hijackers hold Americans hostage on a murderous journey
By WILLIAM E. SMITH

Millions around the world watched their television sets or listened to their radios as the horrific drama unfolded.  "He has pulled a hand-grenade pin and is ready to blow up the aircraft if he has to. We must, I repeat, we must land at Beirut. We must land at Beirut. No alternative." After much delay, the curious, grudging reply of the Beirut control tower: "Very well. Land. Land quietly. Land quietly." Then another desperate plea:  "They are beating the passengers. They are threatening to kill the passengers. We want fuel now. Immediately." [Free version]

True, the Muslim terrorists responsible for this particular incident didn't pull the inside job that their confederates would in 2001. Presumably they gave us more credit than we deserve and never considered that we would leave our borders wide open.

Side note: I blame the French. They gave us that Trojan horse some call the Statue of Liberty. [VDARE.COM note: actually "Liberty Enlightening The World."] It's their invitation to the masses of the world to huddle in America (instead of France?) and take over.

TIME magazine suggests that politicians hesitate about reform because of politicians' fear of corporate America. Big business wants cheap labor—which, by and large, a lax immigration policy can provide.

I disagree. I think the problem is good old fashioned electoral fear.

The immigration lobby, along with groups like La Raza, has covered all the bases. The Democrats sold their souls for the Hispanic vote and the Devil collects his debts. Their policy agenda has become hostage to that special interest.

The Republicans have been snookered into believing that the Hispanic vote is worth seeking—and that they can win (buy?) it. But making this acquisition their priority risks alienating their base.

There is a new problem, however. With the mainstream media like TIME highlighting the immigration disaster, warnings are accumulating.

My prediction: terrorists will enter our country, with pitiful ease, through our unguarded borders. They will attack us again; it is only a matter of time. How will President Bush (or President Kerry) respond when our $200 billion dollar war with Iraq is shown to have done nothing to safeguard us from terror? 

For example, recently a Pakistani illegal was detained for videotaping buildings in Charlotte, North Carolina. The police confiscated his tapes and found footage of various buildings including a sixty-story office that is home to, among others, an FBI office. (Tip for the DHS: This guy might be worth watching, or maybe even DEPORTING.)

A caution for the next President: Americans will not easily forgive another internal attack that could have been prevented by effective border controls.

As the mainstream media shifts its focus to our borders, the whole country sits perched to say "I told you so."

Bryanna Bevens [email her] is a political consultant and former chief of staff for a member of the California State Assembly.