Let’s just make this clear from the outset: This Talk of the Day topic is about legal immigration.

We’re reporting for Tuesday’s Post-Dispatch about the expiration of the H-2B visa program, the program by which tens of thousands of workers legally live and work in the United States. Here’s a quote from a recent story on the subject by USA Today:

For example, tens of thousands of seasonal workers at hotels, resorts and other small businesses could lose their jobs unless Congress renews a separate law that allows the government to issue more than the 66,000 H-2B visas it is supposed to be limited to….

More news out of Jefferson City related to the fight against illegal immigration. This from an Associated Press story today:

Gov. Matt Blunt announced another piece to his crackdown on illegal immigration Monday: a legislative proposal that would bar Missouri from issuing driver’s licenses to people who are in the state illegally.

Meanwhile, here’s an updated story by the Post-Dispatch.

This measure is a companion to Blunt’s earlier call to state law enforcement officers, who he wants to check the immigration status of every person presented for incarceration. Blunt said Monday that officers so far have turned 110 illegal immigrants over to federal authorities…

UPDATE: The bill is dead.

A few weeks ago, the hotly debated bill that would radically reform immigration law looked dead. Tuesday the Senate voted to revive the bill. Here’s the story.

The bill would create a temporary worker program, strengthen border security and institute a new system for weeding out illegal immigrants from workplaces. Here’s an interactive chart with info on how it would change current immigration law.

President Bush is highly supportive of the bill, which he called “a good piece of legislation” and “a careful compromise” that involves give and take from both sides. Surprisingly, the democrats are the ones most…

Looking back at the year as 2006 winds down this weekend, thoughts come to mind as to what major local, state, national and international stories will be remembered in years to come.

In St. Louis:, the top stories that will be remembered for some time, in no particular order, are:

• The Great December Power Outage (and ice story);
• The Great July Power Outage;
• Cardinals win the World Series;
• Baby abductions in Franklin County and East St. Louis;
• The Ford plant closing in Hazelwood;

In Missouri & Illinois:

• Claire McCaskill defeating incumbent Jim Talent for the U.S. Senate;
• Former Illinois Gov. George Ryan’s conviction for corruption while…