With the third and final presidential debate on the books, the race for the White House seems closer than ever.

The conventional wisdom is that President Bush did increasingly better from one debate to the next -- pulling himself from the apparent funk of the first encounter and, in the eyes of some, scoring an upset victory in the final.

Despite putting in by far his best performance of the series, President Bush failed in the minds of conservatives when discussing the most important domestic issue facing the country today -- illegal immigration.

The president, in spite of the threat our borders present after 9/11, continues to pursue his quasi-amnesty program to deal with the matter.

As mentioned in the final debate last Wednesday, some 4,000 illegal aliens cross the border each day. These include people looking for a decent wage and a higher standard of living for their family, but others may have a more sinister motive for the illegal crossings.

Back in June, a report by the group DefenseWatch indicated Arizona border agents have seen a dramatic increase in illegal crossings by men of Middle Eastern descent. These men, moving north from Mexico, were suspected Syrian and Iranian nationals.

Author J. David Galland cited a report from the Tombstone Tumbleweed, a local Arizona newspaper, referencing Border Patrol sources who claimed massive apprehensions of Arab nationals took place throughout the month of June. The trend has continued through the present.

Does this mean a terror plot is building? Not necessarily, but one fact is sure, we must be extremely cautious when dealing with border security. Plans like those of the president do not realistically acknowledge the situation.

Outside the threat of domestic terrorism stemming from our porous borders, the mere idea of rewarding lawbreakers with a free pass is dumbfounding.

Bush claims his "guest worker" program (amnesty) will allow willing workers to "come and go without having to hide in the shadows of our society." The president seems to have the American borders confused with the local Wal-Mart.

These people should be in the shadows of our society. They are criminals! If one truly wants to live and work in America, they should take the proper steps to become a legitimate citizen like so many generations of immigrants past.

By rewarding and legitimizing their actions, President Bush only strengthens the desire of others to abuse our system. This allows illegal immigrants to take advantage of America's fruits but abandon our national pride and obligations.

One ironic point of last week's debate, however, was President Bush's criticism of Sen. Kerry's amnesty program. There's no doubt Kerry's plan would be much worse, but the president should take a look in the mirror.

The Bush and Kerry plans differ in name and scope only. Bush hopes to grant worker visas, while the Kerry plan calls for, "earned citizenship" or outright amnesty for those who have been here longest.

His plan would grant amnesty to those illegal immigrants that have embedded themselves in our country for the longest period of time. Quite simply, those who have broken our laws the longest are rewarded with full citizenship. This scheme is even less acceptable than that of Bush -- and neither one holds water.

Americans must have a serious discussion on this issue. Are we going to reward those that disrespect our country and break our laws, as each program outlines, or are we going to enforce our laws?

President Ronald Reagan, when questioned about his granting amnesty in 1986, called the decision the worst of his presidency.

I hope whoever wins this election learns from this example and rethinks their policy. If not, the consequences for American workers, national unity, and safety will be severe.