Let her in!

Doreen Buttery, 73, is languishing at her daughter's home in Canada, while her new husband, Leonard "Woody" Woodward, 96, sits at home in Provo. A dysfunctional immigration system has torn them apart.

What is needed to reunite them? A little common sense, something not exactly in abundant supply in the U.S. government.

Woody, twice a widower, doesn't like being alone, and he was overjoyed when he met Doreen Buttery, 73, at the Eldred Senior Center in Provo. Love between them quickly blossomed, and they were married Feb. 20 at the Provo LDS Temple. After the wedding, they headed to Canada for a honeymoon -- to settle her affairs and sell her home in Raymond, Alberta.

They thought everything was set. That is, until they reached the U.S. border on the way home.

That's when the Immigration and Naturalization Service cruelly and unnecessarily ripped them apart.

They blocked Doreen's entry because now that she was married and intended to live in Utah, she was classed as an immigrant, not merely a temporary visitor. And Woody found himself on a torturous bus ride from Montana to Provo.

Now the couple are caught in an undertow of government paperwork. Getting an immigrant visa can take months, or years -- a heartbreaking prospect for someone of Woody's age. There's a ton of forms to be found and filled out, and personal documents to be collected and copied. And there are now 795 miles between Woody and Doreen to make the process all the more difficult.

Another hurdle is a sneaky government interview designed to catch people in fake marriages.

Please, Uncle Sam, tell us you're not really this dumb. Woody and Doreen are married -- obviously. She's been living in Utah Valley -- obviously. She's not a terrorist -- obviously. Woody has lived in Provo for decades -- obviously. And at age 96, he's not going to go into hiding with his bride of 73 to avoid immigration authorities. The government will always know where to find her.

In other words, it's wouldn't hurt anything to just LET HER IN, and worry about the paperwork later.

Trust us, Doreen's entry to the U.S. will not trigger a flood of 70-something Canadian women in search of 90-something American hubbies.

What's especially maddening is that plenty of people sneak across the northern border deliberately and successfully, and then they're mollycoddled by a U.S. government that can't seem to get its act together on immigration.

Our neighbors to the north are not the big problem here. The authorities never raid an office looking for people who look Canadian. Doreen is suffering because she was honest, not because she tried to sneak into the country.

What will it take to clear up this mess? A little common sense on the part of the INS.

Congressman Chris Cannon's office has promised to provide a nudge after the couple have filled out all the proper papers. But what's really needed is somebody with the authority and common sense to recognize that an exception to the usual rules is called for. And it can't wait.

Perhaps a direct appeal to the president of the United States would work. President Bush, currently languishing in lame-duckness, likely has some time on his hands. Instead of the usual last-minute pardons that always seem to accompany outgoing presidents, how about doing something for someone who clearly deserves it?

This is all about bureaucracy, nothing more. The agency can do it if it wants to. Why can't the INS just pretend, and let these two people get on with their lives. It will get paid eventually.

Our government officials are always saying how much they do for us. Well, ladies and gentlemen, here's a great opportunity to back up that claim. Surely someone in the government can summon the guts and humanity to cut through the red tape.

It's time to end the anxiety for Woody and Doreen.

Do you agree?