Did you hear the big, new developments with our government’s efforts to curb illegal immigration?

Probably not. The details got lost in the shuffle, like a lot of other important information emanating from Washington these days.

The details on the new developments are coming up, so stay tuned.

But first, you should know that Michael Chertoff spoke at the Fourth Annual Border Security Conference, held last week at the University of Texas at El Paso. And unfortunately, Mr. Chertoff’s comments at the conference seemed completely detached and disconnected from the “new developments” that ensued just days before.

On several previous occasions I have written here at Townhall Dot Com about the dismal performance of the second-term Bush Administration at communicating effectively, and meaningfully, to the American people. More specifically, I have often cited examples of the Administration’s apparent inability (or disinterest, as the case may be) to understand the perceptions that the American people have of their government with respect to illegal immigration, and its’ inability to anticipate how the American people might react to its’ proposals - - and lack of proposals - - regarding illegal immigration.

I have long maintained that the wartime President who ordered Americans in to battle on foreign soil to “hunt down the terrorists and bring em’ to justice” (a very noble objective, in my view) is, however fairly or unfairly, perceived by the American people as though he is ignoring the gross injustice that is staring all of us in the face - - the on-going assault on American lives and property at our nation’s southern border. Likewise, I have maintained that until the Administration speaks and acts with clarity to address this injustice, all its talk of “pathways to citizenship” and “worker visas” will be perceived as giving preferential treatment to “law breakers,” at the expense of law abiding American citizens.

Call it a “p.r. problem” if you want - - but it is most certainly a problem, and it is very real.

One might think that the stinging defeat of the so-called “comprehensive immigration reform bill” in Congress would bring this “p.r. problem” to the attention of the Adminstration. But there is little evidence that this has happened. Continued...