Immigration policy has concerned this nation even before we became the United States of America. Our Congress has adopted immigration policies from one extreme to the opposite end of the policy continuum over our nation's 231 years. We are again divided over the future direction of our national immigration policy. The divisions in the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives are merely reflective of the same divisions in our electorate. Accordingly, Prairie Fire will seek contributions that are intended to provide our readers with thoughtful material that will enable them to refine and establish their own opinions as to the future directions of U.S. immigration policy.

This issue's contributors underscore the notion that the wide range of thought does not necessarily follow traditional political labels. Governor Lamm, usually associated with more liberal positions, has urged caution on this issue for more than 25 years. Admiral Partington, as a retired naval officer, might be assumed to hold forth on a much more conservative approach. Both have proven that Prairie Fire can add to this national debate without promoting a rhetorical food fight. -W. Don Nelson

Read "Liberals beware: There is a high cost to 'cheap labor'" by Richard D. Lamm.

Read "Federal immigration reform and the future of the U.S. workforce" by Jim Partington