Billy and Kathy Inman of Woodstock should be in our prayers today. Their only son was killed nine years ago today. An agonizingly sad anniversary they bear with incredible dignity and strength. Cause of death? Illegal immigration.

Dustin Inman was one of the tens of thousands of Americans who have needlessly lost their lives because the American government has refused to secure American borders or reasonably enforce American immigration and employment laws.

Dustin Inman was a 16-year-old American youth killed in a senseless traffic collision on Father's Day weekend in 2000. He was on his way to a weekend of family camping and fishing in the North Georgia mountains.

Despite being in the United States illegally, the man later charged with being the driver of the car that killed Dustin, Gonzalo Harrell-Gonzalez, was able to obtain a valid North Carolina driver's license using his Mexican birth certificate and a Mexican issued matricula consular ID card.

On June 16, 2000, a speeding vehicle driven by Harrell-Gonzalez hurtled into the rear of the Inman family's car while it was stopped at a red light in Ellijay - killing Dustin instantly.

When she regained consciousness after five weeks in a coma, Kathy learned of the death of her only son. She also learned that because of spinal injuries received in the wreck, she would spend the rest of her life in a wheelchair. Nearly a decade later, anxiously waiting to hear from her many doctors if she will need to have more surgery - this time to relieve pressure on her brain - Kathy struggles with constant pain, both physical and emotional. But at least a million illegal aliens entered our nation last year.

Because of their injuries in the wreck, Kathy and Billy were not able to attend the funeral of their son, who today would be a 25 year-old American looking for a better life in his own country.

Harrell-Gonzalez escaped custody on the day of the crash and has never been brought to justice. He is still free.

Billy Inman will tell you that he blames the government sworn to protect him and his family for his son's death more than he blames the illegal alien who killed him.

Say a little prayer for our nation as well.

Crazies masquerading as "civil rights advocates" who will do or say anything to promote and defend the crime of illegal immigration, and the illegals who have become a cash cow for these shameless charlatans, are hard at work to convince the American people that it is the illegals who are the real victims.

Case in point: Aimed at stopping the super-effective 287 (g) local enforcement program, along with Amnesty International, the ACLU's "Georgia Detention Watch" staged an all-day vigil in front of the Immigration Customs Enforcement Atlanta Detention office last week to protest any and all local enforcement of American immigration laws. They cite the case of Roberto Martinez Medina, a 39-year old illegal alien who died of natural causes three months ago while in detention at the Stewart Detention facility.

His death proves that immigration enforcement is a human-rights violation, according to these anti-enforcement radicals. While holding signs that read "Liberty and Justice for All," "No human being is illegal" and "STOP 287 (g)" at their protest against enforcement promoted by Jerry Gonzalez and the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials, these people argued that because thousands of illegal aliens who landed in Cobb Sheriff Neil Warren's jail were then deported, the "undocumented immigrant community" lives in fear in Georgia. Thank you, Sheriff Warren.

Another reason to say a little prayer: Today, President Obama is scheduled to begin the 2009 attempt to repeat the 1986 reward process for the 20 million or so illegal aliens now present in the U.S. by legalizing them and granting a path to citizenship.

Think of it as an early - but calculated - "get out the vote" campaign. But don't think of it as a way to stop illegal immigration.

Very much in support of immigration law enforcement, the Inman family is holding its own 7 p.m. vigil in memory of Dustin today at Rolling Hills Cemetery in Acworth. Billy says he hopes that keeping their story alive may in some way make a difference that would prevent another family from "going through the mess we have."

Me too, Billy. I'll say a prayer.

D.A. King is president of the Cobb-based Dustin Inman Society, which is opposed to illegal immigration and named in memory of the Inman youth. On the Web: (http://www.TheDustinInmanSociety.org)