Not only has President Bush’s “guest worker” amnesty program for illegal immigrants backfired, the administration moved swiftly to cover up its embarrassment. So alleges Judicial Watch. The Washington-based public interest group obtained through a Freedom of Information request a detainees survey, which the administration quashed weeks after it was initiated. Based on the surveys obtained — Judicial Watch is pursuing the release of other documents — more than 61 percent of detainees said they heard reports of a U.S. amnesty program. And almost 45 percent said “amnesty rumors” prompted their illegal crossing at the U.S.-Mexican border. In short order federal officials pulled the survey. A spokeswoman for the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection insists the survey was canceled because some data allegedly were leaked. Really• Then why were federal staffers also told not to talk about amnesty or about spikes in apprehensions? It’s no surprise that Mr. Bush’s amnesty plan — and that’s exactly what it is — prompted more illegal migration. If illegals didn’t have enough reason to bypass legitimacy, Bush’s brainstorm gave them even more incentive to do so. The president dangled a carrot. And the hordes responded. Had the president instead issued a crackdown on illegal immigration from the start — specifying arrests, detainment and deportation — he wouldn’t be wiping this latest egg from his face.

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