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The Senate's betrayal of America with the amnesty bill is nothing short of treason. Every Senator who voted for the bill must be held accountable. By Tony Phyrillas

What do Ted Kennedy, Hillary Clinton, Barbara Boxer, John Kerry, Harry Reid, Russ Feingold, Joe Biden, Dick Durbin, Pat Leahy, Chuck Schumer and Diane Feinstein have in common?

They are among the most liberal members in the U.S. Senate. They're all Democrats. Most of them plan to run for president in 2008. And all of them voted in favor of the sweeping "immigration reform" bill passed by the Senate last week.

Without having to read a word of the 614-page bill, ask yourself one question. Can anything supported by Hillary Clinton, Ted Kennedy and John Kerry be good for the United States? The fact that so many politicians on the far left support this bill is reason enough to sound the alarm.

But there's more. The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 62 to 36,  with two senators missing the vote. It passed with the support of 23 Republican senators, a motley crew that included Sens. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, Bill Frist of Tennessee and John McCain of Arizona.

Frist and McCain essentially forfeited any chance of winning the Republican nomination for president in 2008 by turning their backs on the wishes of the majority of Americans. This bill is possibly the worst idea to come out of Washington, D.C., since prohibition.

Frist and McCain sold out their country for political expediency. Latinos are the fastest growing segment of the electorate. They want to attract Latino voters at the expense of the rest of the country, including millions of immigrants who came here legally and followed the rules to become naturalized U.S. citizens. There should be no special treatment for illegal aliens. The fact that you broke into somebody's house does not entitle you to walk away with his belongings even after the police arrive.

The primary goal of the Senate bill is to provide amnesty to the millions of illegal aliens already living in the United States. It would make it easier for them to obtain citizenship and even giving them retroactive credit toward Social Security. In other words, it's not only OK with the majority of U.S. Senators that people break our laws, but we should make it easier for them have a comfortable retirement.

The basic argument that Senators are making is that there's too many illegal aliens already here to consider sending them back home. It's the same as saying that there's too many criminals running around, so we'll tell the police to forget arresting any of them. Lawlessness has its rewards when it comes to the Senate bill.

The Senate bill was immediately hailed by Mexican President Vincente Fox, another reason this bill cannot be good for the United States. If you were Fox and had the opportunity to send millions of your citizens into a neighboring country so they can make money, get free medical care and other benefits at the expense of the other nation's taxpayers, why wouldn't you support it?

The relationship between the U.S. and Mexico is a simple one. You get up in the morning, go next door to your neighbor's house, raid his refrigerator, put on his clothes, grab the keys to his car and help yourself to some spending money from his wallet on the way out.

The Senate's betrayal of America with the amnesty bill is nothing short of treason. Every Senator who voted for the bill must be held accountable. (Only four Democrats in the Senate opposed the bill). One-third of the Senate is up for re-election this year. Find out how your senator voted and fire him or her Nov. 7.

In Pennsylvania, Specter is protected until 2010 when he will most likely retire. The other senator, Rick Santorum, facing a tough re-election fight against the son of former Gov. Bob Casey, voted against the Senate bill even though Santorum is running behind the polls and is the No. 1 target of the far left during this election cycle. Santorum's courageous vote to oppose this travesty is reason enough to re-elect him.

The fight now goes to the House, where a House-Senate Conference Committee will attempt to "reconcile" the Senate amnesty bill. Let's make this real simple. There is nothing to reconcile. There is no compromise. The only hope the United States has to protect its borders from invasion and to save its sovereignty is for the House to reject the Senate bill outright.

All 435 members of the House face re-election in 2006. While most Democrats will follow the party line and support the bill, some moderate Democrats can be persuaded to put down the Kool-Aid mixed by Howard Dean and do what's best for their country. Every Republican in the House must be told that their re-election depends on rejecting the amnesty bill.

Immigration reform is a complex issue, but the solution begins with the basic premise that the U.S. must secure its borders and stop illegal immigration. Amnesty is wrong. We must repair the holes in the dam before we worry about cleaning up the flood damage below.

Tony Phyrillas is a columnist for The Mercury, a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning daily newspaper in Pottstown, Pa. E-mail him at tphyrillas@pottsmerc.com