velcome massive immigration as a boonrnto the local economy.rnOn January 14, Congress ended a pilotrnprogram established under a provisionrnknown as 245(1), which gave “undocumented”rnaliens the right to stay inrnthe country legally while their applicadonsrnfor citizenship were under review,rnthough it also imposed a $1,000 fine.rnOver the opposition of RepresentativernDana Rohrabacher (R-CA), Congressrnhad repeatedly extended the program,rnbowing to pressure from activistsrnand pro-immigration politicians likernNew York State Senator John Sampson,rnwhose Brooklyn constituency includesrnone of the largest concentrationsrnof Caribbean immigrants anywhere.rnLaunched in September 1994, the programrn(discussed in a series of articles byrnMichael D. Roberts in the New YorkbasedrnCaribNews) drew record numbersrnof applications for citizenship—1.6 millionrnin the fiscal year ending in Septemberrn1997. Unable to process so many applicationsrnby the middle of January’, thernINS bureaucracy left many immigrantsrnwith “deportable” status.rnCompoimding immigrants’ woes, thernrequirements are also stricter now for citizensrnwho want to “sponsor” immigrants.rnThe 1996 Illegal Immigration Act’s “affidavitrnof support” provision, which finallyrnwent into effect in December 1997, requiresrngreen card-holding sponsors ofrnimmigrants (their relatives, in most cases)rnto submit forms accompanied by tworn’ears’ tax returns proving that their ownrnearnings are at least 25 percent over thernofficial povert)’ line. While this is a potentialrnproblem for immigrants of anyrnbackground, Irwin Claire of the QueensbasedrnCaribbean Immigrant Servicesrn(CIS) told the CaribNews that “withinrnthe Caribbean-American community,rn2 5 to 30 percent of the population couldrnnot meet the requirement.” Those whorncannot meet it have the option of findingrna co-signer who earns at least 40 percentrnof the required income.rnThe federal government, from Octoberrn25 to November 25, ran a green-cardrnlottery, which offered an interesting examplernof post-1965 immigration priorities.rnTwenty-three thousand green cardsrnwere set aside for newcomers from Europe,rn22,000 for those from Africa, 7,000rnfor those from Asia, and 2,400 for thosernfrom Central America, South America,rnand the Caribbean. The lottery seemedrnto imply that newcomers from Europernare (marginally) more desirable thanrnthose from other places, and that there isrnnot much need for those from Haiti orrnTrinidad (or Jamaica, which was excludedrnaltogether). For Caribbean immigrants,rn”the chances are about 1 in 1 million.rnBut a lot of immigrants… have nornother choice,” Ernest Emmanuel, a candidaternfor the 45th Congressional District,rntold the CaribNews.rnActually, they do. Not only is there arnlarge black market for green cards (immigrantsrnhave been warned about conrnmen who claim to offer the needed documentsrnon the cheap), but illegals whornhave a spouse with legal status have lessrnto worry about—an American citizen filingrnon behalf of an illegal tends to havernmuch better luck than an illegal on hisrnown. In order to gain such leverage,rnrecord numbers of immigrants havernbeen getting married —”officials at therncity’s marriage license bureau have reportedrna 15 percent increase in weddingsrnat City Hall in recent weeks,” accordingrnto the CaribNews. And an unknownrnnumber of immigrants have simplyrn”gone underground” to avoid gettingrncaught and deported.rnGetting married is a shrewd strategy,rnand one that is actively promoted by certainrnadvocacv groups. Irwin Claire toldrnme that CIS not only encourages Caribbeanrnimmigrants to “fall in love,” but alsornurges them to hand over the paperworkrnto siblings who hold green cardsrnand who can file on behalf of the illegals.rnApart from helping immigrants gain legalrnstatus, Claire says, CIS also urgesrnthose Caribbeans with green cards to becomernnaturalized, so that they can voternto turn the tide against Washington’srn”draconian” new measures.rn”The United States appears to be goingrnthrough one of its periodic episodesrnof immigrant-bashing,” states an editorialrnin the Weekly Gleaner, a Caribbeanrnnewspaper. The editorial goes on to arguernthat things will quickly settle downrnagain, and the demographic revolutionrnthat has been remaking America willrnproceed as before. Although 245(1) hasrnfinally come to an end, there are still toornmany loopholes in immigration policyrnfor lasting and effective reform.rn—Michael WashburnrnK A R L A FAYE TUCKER’S executionrnin Februar}’ for a grisly double homicidernturned into a circus, complete with roaringrnhelicopters with searchlights, livernbroadcasts via satellite, throngs of deathrnpenalty supporters and protesters, andrnscores of reporters (including disapprovingrn”enlightened” Europeans). Whyrnsuch a frenzy?rnAs detailed endlessly in the month beforernher death by such divergent entitiesrnas the 700 Club and CNN, iMs. Tuckerrnwas a “changed” woman, a born-againrnChristian who had been “rehabilitated,”rnand therefore deserving of clemency.rnShe desired life without parole so thatrnshe could continue to spread the Cospelrnto other inmates and be a living examplernof the redemptive work of Christ. To herrncredit, she stated that she was not afraidrnto die. However, she was praying to bernspared. She compared herself to Christrnin the Garden of Gethsemane pleadingrnwith God that He take away the cup ofrndeath: if Jesus Himself could ask forrnclemency, she felt she could as well. Allrnof the interviews with Ms. Tucker werernthe standard, super-sensational bombshells,rnachieving their intended purposernof leaving the public wondering, “Howcanrnthis poor woman be put to death?”rnFhe whole sad episode was summedrnup in this misguided woman’s Christianrnanalogy. While I was not surprised thatrnCNN’s nominally Jewish, actually agnosticrnLarry King did not refute it, wherernwas the instruction from the 700 Clubrnand Pat Robertson? Jesus Christ wasrnwithout sin in the Garden when Hernasked His Father to do away with the inevitable,rnwhile Karla Faye was on deathrnrow for pick-axing to death an ex-loverrnand his new woman. While it is understandablernthat someone destined for executionrnwould grasp at any straw to stayrnalive, and that her husband would wantrnto keep her alive as well, the Pop Christianih’rnof Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson etrnal., was unconscionable.rnJerry, Pat, and friends refused to remindrnKarla of St. Paul’s admonition inrnRomans 13, that Christians be subject tornrighteous law, as it is from God. (“Rulersrnare not a terror to good works, but to evil.rn. . . If thou do that which is evil, be afraid;rnfor [the ruler] beareth not the sword inrnvain: for he is the minister of God, a revengerrnto execute wrath upon him thatrndoeth evil”) Nor did they refer her tornC.S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity, in whichrnhe states, “If one had committed a murder,rnthe right Christian thing to do wouldrnbe to give yourself up to the police andrnbe hanged.” Lewis then describes therndifference in the Greek and Hebrew betweenrnthe words “kill” and “murder” andrnpoints out that Christ uses the wordrnAPRIL 1998/7rnrnrn