The clarion call that “We are a nation of laws” is nonpartisan and ingrained into our national psyche. When it comes to issues ranging from local law enforcement to landmark constitutional battles, there is no shortage of the proud chest-thumping that our way of life is undergirded by the sanctity of a timeless Constitution and other important guiding documents, not the whims of men or trends of the time.

Which is why it boggles the mind when debate turns to foreign nationals’ unlawful entry into the United States of America. Some among us are cavalier about — others militantly supportive of — the illegal activity. Indeed, we hear such enticing slogans as “there is no such thing as an illegal person.” Those who would seek to enforce the law, the dividing line between an orderly society on one side and chaos or tyranny on the other, are likely to be pelted verbally with nasty accusations of being racists, the ultimate, if vile, weapon of the demagogues.

Yet safeguarding sovereign borders is a globally accepted practice. In places such as North Korea, there is no quarter given to unlawful entry. Ask U.S. journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling, who had been sentenced to 12 years of hard labor for illegally sneaking into the country before being bailed out by former president Bill Clinton.

So why would America want to soften protection of our borders at a time when terrorists and narcotraffickers and flesh peddlers would do us and others harm? Why would we want to reward those who do cross over without complying with lawful mechanisms for setting foot on American soil?

Case in point: The N.C. Board of Community Colleges is expected to vote this week on yet another change in policy on admitting undocumented immigrants into its 58 member institutions. It would be the fifth switcharoo since 2000, this time overturning the existing ban on admission into the two-year colleges.

Rules drafted by the Community College Board’s policy committee late last month would admit undocumented immigrants if they graduated from a U.S. high school. They would have to pay out-of-state rates of about $7,000 a year and would not be able to bump U.S. residents for admission when classrooms are crowded.

Even that policy, indifferent as it is to immigration law, is opposed by some immigrant rights groups, who believe in-state tuition is a better way to go. Undocumented immigrants can enroll at in-state rates in California, Illinois, New Mexico, New York and Texas. Out-of-state tuition is charged to such students in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia and Virginia.

Paul Stam of Apex, the N.C. House Republican leader now in his fifth term, objects to either path.

“First of all, I think it’s wonderful when foreign students come to study in our schools and universities and have the proper visa to do that,” he said. “I think it’s good for us and good for them. But I don’t think if it’s illegal for them to be here at all that our community college system ought to be facilitating unlawful conduct.”

And what’s so hard about that notion of upholding the country’s laws?

“I don’t think the issue is that difficult,” Stam said.

And, he said, “It is odd” that the Community College System is pushing the policy revision at this time when the issue has been dormant in the General Assembly.

“I haven’t heard it discussed for several months, probably because the status quo, which is no admissions of those who are here illegally, is satisfactory to most members,” Stam said.

“I would hazard a guess that most members of our [Republican] caucus would not be in favor of admitting those unlawfully here. I would hazard a guess that most members of the Democratic caucus would not be in favor of that, either,” he said.

Without predicting what might happen if the policy is passed, Stam said, “Ultimately, the General Assembly can decide,” the policy, “but the state board certainly has a big part of it.”

Now think about this. In North Carolina, it is illegal for an employer to knowingly hire an illegal immigrant, and the government can bring its full weight to bear on those lawbreakers. So why should it be legal for a branch of the government to set a community college admission policy that is contrary to the law of the land?

Dan E. Way is editor of The Chapel Hill Herald. E-mail dway@heraldsun.com or call 918-1035.