If our neighbors to the immediate south prevail, illegal immigrants have lost their lease on using Escondido as a haven for their law-breaking.

"If" is the operative word here. You know the action taken Wednesday by the Escondido City Council requiring landlords to deny lodging to illegal immigrants will face legal challenge heaped upon legal challenge.

"Respect for the law" is a phrase lost on the folks who enable illegal immigrants to continue to pour into the country, sapping the hard-earned tax dollars paid by legal residents and citizens who until recently probably had the notion that the money sent to Washington, D.C., and Sacramento to some degree would be spent on making their lives better.

To begin with, many taxpayers view that as a spurious notion. Throw in using those dollars to aid illegal immigrants and spurious becomes ludicrous.

And while illegal immigrants enjoy the fruits paid for by the labor of legal workers, they also drive down wages, thus creating jobs "Americans don't want."

The Escondido law addresses only one factor in the formula that equals illegal immigration, but in doing that it sends a message to the people who stand to lose the most from effective enforcement of laws battling it -- businesspeople, particularly those who rely on below-market labor costs to pad their profits.

In addition to closing the door on housing, cities and counties need to pass and enforce laws barring businesses from employing illegal immigrants. First offenses should include mandatory fines. The very real prospect of jail time for employers should be a part of being found guilty of subsequent infractions.

Employers take note: It's not just the feds you need to worry about. Just last week, a federal appeals court ruled Mohawk Industries, a major carpet manufacturer, can be sued by workers who claim thousands of illegal immigrants were hired, causing wages to be depressed.

When businesspeople understand that their livelihoods are endangered by ignoring such laws, the smart ones will fall in line. The others, well, that's the way it goes.

To be sure, unscrupulous employers, while a major component of the problem, share top billing with our federal government and Mexico.

There's little we can do about Mexico's intransigence. And, indeed, why would we expect a government to care about the consequences here if doesn't care enough about its people to work toward solving the problems that drive them out.

In fact, the fuming and sputtering of Mexican officials about the border fence well may be a barometer of how much they fear any reduction in the efficiency of the safety valve that is our border.

We may not be able to do much about Mexico, but we sure can do something about Washington and Sacramento. And it is actions such as the one taken in Escondido that will force our representatives to get serious about the border and our laws.

Already, there appear to be signs that federal lawmakers are listening, but, with an election looming and the backlash following the demonstrations by illegal immigrants earlier this year fresh in their minds, one must be suspicious of the depth of their commitment.

Post-election will provide a better accounting of their concern.

This fight for citizen sovereignty will not be won by waiting for the federal government to act. It will be won by passing and enforcing laws locally, which, in addition to attacking the problem in the trenches, will send the message that voters are fed up.

It is a message that will be ignored at the risk of losing elections.

As for the lawsuits, bring them on. Like the demonstrations, they'll serve to remind us of why the battle is so necessary.

Phil Strickland is a regular columnist for The Californian. E-mail: philipestrickland@yahoo.com.