The Democrats' capture of Congress, particularly the House, is bad news for immigration reformers — and there's no way to spin it otherwise. Last year the Republican-led House went on the offensive for immigration reform by passing an excellent package of bills. Now with Nancy Pelosi as House speaker, and similarly-minded Democrats in key positions, those reforms are a dead letter. Pelosi has a career grade of "F" on immigration reform from Americans for Better Immigration.

All, however, is not lost. Even if reformers have to switch from offensive to defensive, we still have much to defend. Specifically, we must hold the line against the kind of amnesty that the Senate passed last May, offering legalization to at least 10 million illegal aliens. This would spell disaster to our country, as a nation ruled by law, and throw out the welcome mat to millions of more foreigners to come here for their shot at the amnesty jackpot.

To fight this defensive battle it is first necessary to clear our minds of propaganda circulated by the alienist lobbies and their friends in the media. Borrowing from the insight of a certain German leader, they believe that people will believe a Big Lie if they hear it enough times.

This particular false Big Lie is that Republicans lost the House because of their strong stand for immigration control. Nothing could be further from the truth. Virtually every exit poll found that the main reasons voters shifted to the Democrats were dissatisfaction with the Bush administration's conduct of the Iraq war and various scandals associated with the Republican Party. Some GOP reformers who lost were also strong backers of the war.

As demonstrated by the surveys done by the Polling Company and other respected researchers, immigration reform was a winning issue among voters. And many Democrat candidates who won were well aware of this fact. They maintained throughout their campaigns that they were as strong for reform as their Republican opponents.

With this information in mind, the immigration reform movement must pressure these newly-elected Democrats to keep their word. Reformers also should remind these Democrats and others that their party supposedly stands for the interests of America's working people — the very people whose wages and living standards will drop like a rock if the sort of guest worker/amnesty desired by Democrat leaders and President Bush becomes law.

Another reminder the newly-elected Democrats need to heed is that voters will be very angry if they forget promises made this year and hop aboard the amnesty train. If they do, they may lose their hard-won seats two years from now.

The basic strategy for immigration reformers is to keep the remaining Republican House members solid for reform while adding to their ranks enough pro-reform Democrats to create a majority. If may be that the remaining Republicans will be more determined than ever to hold the line. In the past, a number of them felt deference toward President Bush and his all-out support of amnesty. But with the end of his presidency around the corner, and his popularity low, they may feel much more inclined to defy the White House.

Another source for hope is that the Democrat leadership under Pelosi will become overconfident and overplay its hand. Even pro-amnesty Republicans have claimed that they want some restrictions on amnesty applicants and their pathway to citizenship. Radical Democrats like Pelosi may resist even these small sops to public opinion. If so, our country might enjoy a bipartisan fight among amnesty advocates which could bog down the agendas of both sides. Patriotic Americans must hope and pray for such a conflict.

But hope and prayer by themselves won't be enough. Stopping an amnesty disaster will require intense work by all concerned citizens. If you have never done much to try to sway Washington, please do so now. Write letters to your congressmen, particularly, House members. Also call them, and attend their town hall meetings in your districts. Inform them that you oppose amnesty and massive guest worker programs, with no ifs, ands, or buts. Let them know too that you are watching them, and that you have a good memory.

Many reformers felt discouraged by the election results. That is understandable, but it's time now to get over it. With so much at stake, despair is a luxury we can do without.