EDITORIAL - What part of "illegal" do some Americans (and Mexicans) not understand? During recent federal raids in Ohio, hundreds of illegal immigrants sought asylum in St Mary's Catholic Church in Painesville, OH. And the church was all too happy to let them in.

"We are scared," said Guadelupe Gonzalez, 36, who sat with his wife and two children with a rosary wrapped around his hand. "They can take me and send me back to Mexico." (from AP wire article)

Well Guadelupe, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but that is exactly what you deserve. You’re breaking the law by being here. But let’s look at this from another angle: The Bible clearly states (Romans 13: 1-7) that it is incumbent upon us to obey the laws of the land. Was this church obeying the law of the land, and therefore God's word, when it harbored criminals?

If churches choose to become safe houses for criminals, then those churches should be dealt with accordingly. Kick down the doors and arrest everyone inside, including the pastor. In this case, a church should not be treated any differently than the home of a human smuggler who uses his home as a holding area for illegals.

How did we get to a point where illegals are being treated better than many of our own citizens? How is it that we allow illegals to gather in protest of the very laws they're breaking? Why are those illegals not rounded up during the protests and sent back to Mexico? Why are the children of illegals allowed to attend American public schools at the expense of the American taxpayer? Why are Border Patrol agents prosecuted for doing their jobs?

And how is it that the so-called "Comprehensive Immigration Reform" is little more than a way for illegal aliens to avoid deportation and stay in America? For that matter, how is George W. Bush still residing at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue? Dubya should be deported back to Crawford, Texas where he belongs.

Our culture has survived as long as it has because we are a society that by and large respects the laws of the land. But as the years go by, more and more laws seem to become unworthy of compliance. Our porous southern border is a symptom of a much larger problem.

Blatant disregard for the law, along with a sense of entitlement are at the root of our troubles where illegal immigration is concerned. Mexican citizens seem to believe they are somehow owed a place in our society, and they are willing to break every law on the books, violently at times, to stay here.

Legal American citizens die every day at the hands of illegal immigrants. True enough; Americans also die at the hands of other Americans, too. But that doesn't eliminate the fact of functionally illiterate illegals who drive with fraudulent licenses in uninsured cars. Traffic deaths related to illegal immigrants are increasing at an alarming rate. Crimes ranging from robbery to sexual assault by illegal immigrants are committed at a rate disproportionate to their numbers. While there are certainly illegals in this country whose only crime is that of illegal entry (and that's bad enough), there is a disturbingly large criminal element crossing our border with Mexico. Their number grows each and every day, and our government is letting it happen.

The only immigration reform needed in America is the addition of a few thousand Border Patrol agents to roam the nation and routinely arrest those who willfully employ illegals. Take away the incentive for them to sneak into our country, and they'll finally have an incentive to stay home and solve their own problems. America has enough troubles of her own without being expected to absorb millions of people who have no desire to contribute to the society from which they take away so much.