Excellent post, Alex, but until we remove the incentives that draw illegal aliens to the U.S., the attempts will not stop.

Part of the problem are the immoral companies that exploit the illegal immigrants in America and guys like you never accept it. This is at least double moral.

No Carlos, we are well aware of the companies doing that. Alex and D200911 say(indirectly) that the government isn't doing what needs to be done to stiffen fines against US employers that hire them.

You guys speak of things that you do not know or understand. What would you do if you have been spending the last 6 months eating twice a week. Your family depends on you to feed and clothe them. Are you going to just stick around and watch your family slowly die? Or are you going to find a way, any way to provide for the. Half of us here in the states don't even have the guts to do what some of these people have to do get here. The dangers they have to cross - drug gans, abuse from officials, living in the jungle with no cover, food, etc. Having to eat bananas, mangos, oranges...or whatever wild fruit for days. Not to mention having to work the jobs that neither our kids nor ourselves are willing to work!

They come and pay outrageous rent for poor living conditions, plus they are taken advantage at every corner because of their 'illegal' status. Don't even dare say that the don't contribute, because many of them pay property, local, and federal taxes.

Just look at some of those pictures, I am sure many of them would be willing to pay some type of fee or tax for the legal opportunity to come work for a while and go back to their precious families and land.

It is said that we can get accustomed to everything...except to not eating.

Excellent post, Alex, but until we remove the incentives that draw illegal aliens to the U.S., the attempts will not stop.

You mean like the professional American photographers that travel along with these people and other illegal immigrants that make them anti-heros.

Side note... gads Mexico is amazing. Go see it and it's beauty. They don't like the problems ruining their country either and want the drugs and gangs to stop. Meet the people and hear their personal stories.

Yeah, that Honduran with designer jeans and fancy haircut really looks like he is suffering.

What we need someone in Washington who truly wants to deal with this problem and cares more about the future of America than placating ILLEGAL ALIENS by sweeping the issue under the rug in the hope it will enable his party to get Hispanic votes.

We need leaders in Washington who truly want to solve this problem in the way that is not only best for America but also reflects the Chritian and American ideals this country was founded on, rather than using disinformation and propaganda to fan the flames of ignorance, fear, bigotry, and class distinctions in the hope that it will enable their party to get the votes of the uniformed and prevent Latinos and other solid Americans from voting.

Wow. When did Mexico become part of South America??? Does that mean the U.S. is part of Central America? I'm sure the Brazilians will be surprised to hear they are part of the "woebegotten"(sic) South American countries.

1. While Mexico is South of the border, it is NOT South America but Central America, so lets start by getting a globe or a map...

2. Im not for illegal immigration but I am for a way where they can legally work provided they pay for working licenses and meet other conditions. just an Idea, the government can charge them for a work permit the same as the coyotes charge them to cross the border and that would eliminate the coyotes business, add revenue in fees, taxes and cut cost on the border patrol.

3. Mexicans & Hondurans and other Central America's immigrants get demonized but no one talks about European and Asian ilegals who come with a temporary visa, student visa or no visa at all, over stay their permits and do work in the US taking jobs that are not in restaurant kitchens, fruit and vegetables pickers, cleaning, gardening and construction.

"We have been providing the dictatorships and woebegotten nations of South America - including Mexico -with a pressure safety value, which is one of the main reasons virtually, if not all of South America, never changes or improves."

Go back in the history books and and see what influence we had in creating these woebegotten nations. We (the US) in an effort to stop the spread of communism created allot of what you see today. Including the level of violence that was never the norm for what use to be God fearing people.

North America is a CONTINENT. Not some arbitrary regional designation. Mexico is part of North America. (Technically, so is Central America)

This is just one of the Many reasons the rest of the global community thinks we (Americans) are a bunch of idiots.

Turn off Glenn Beck and go back to school.

moron! we (the united states) can't get by without the illegal , easily intimidated wetbacks. are you going to do the 'heavy lifting' for minimum wage or less?

i think it is funny how everyone talks down on immigrants (legal or Illegal) but the sad truth is AMERICANS ARE TO F&^$#N LAZY TO WORK FOR THEIR MONEY. everyone here just wants to put the blame on someone else about how horrible the economy is and how there are no jobs. Hmmmm funny cause I know of a ton of companies that are hiring. Immigrants do have taxes taken out of their checks but many of them can not file a tax return at the end of the year. So there is millions of dollars that go unclaimed at the end of the year. Business's use immigrants because WE get the job done Period. Immigrants have been coming to the US for hundreds of years now, and they come from all over the world, but everyone hates them. Yet you love the benefits and perks they bring with them, can we say americans are HIPPOCRITES... Just think about this the next time you eat chinese food, get your nails done, eat a piece of fruit, or meat, or go out to a mexican resturant. It is because of Immigrants that you get to enjoy these luxuries. Next time you get your welfare checks and food stamps, remember that immigrant's also contribute to your ability to sit on you ass and do nothing all day. And at the end of the day when you return to your cozy homes remember that pancho, jose,juan and carlos built that house.
If any of you knew how an immigrant's life is in their country you would understand why they try to find a better life. My mother raised her children without the help of the government, no welfare or food stamps. She worked 3 jobs to provide for all of us and guess what She is MEXICAN. I know how life was in Mexico and I am grateful to be here in the US, but I refuse to allow anyone talk bad about Immigrants, because MOST of us are hard working honest people who just want a better life

Right on!

We are all sons and daughters of immigrants here in this country....unless you are a Native American.

Greg in Oceanside

Mexican and Latin American women only know one thing; get pregnant once they're over here.

Naw, my mom knows a lot of stuff and she didn't get pregnant until she came here legally many years later. Unfortunately she gave birth to latin americans.

Mexicans and Latin Americans have absolutely no desire or interest in assimilating or becoming patriotic American citizens and have no stake in our country

That's news to me, my family is from latin america and we went through the whole process legally, we love this country and we assimilated just fine.

all while blaring that ooom-pah-pah ranchero music from their radio as if they're making a statement

We must ban these stations!! Or they just may like the music, but mexicans aren't the only ones that make rukus like that.

I see Mexicans (and Latin Americans) driving their cars or trucks displaying the Mexican flag or with the name of the state in Mexico they're from, such as Michoacán, Oaxaca, Chihuahua, etc

We tend to wave only american flags though

Thanks, that's cool, I originally thought you were just badmouthing all latinos. Yeah, I'm not too fond of people blaring any type of music either. If you like the song, that's cool, but why does everyone else in a half mile radius have to be forced to listen? LOL

The point is that they are still coming. Sure doesn't look fake to me.

People come here for economic opportunity, freedom, and a love for America and all it represents. This drumbeat has compelled hard-working, freedom-loving people to seek refuge here since the arrival of the first Pilgrims.

For most of our nation's history, no advance permission was required; as our Founding Fathers had the good sense to realize that attempts to impose centrally planned social engineering and class distinctions were not only contrary to the ideals of Liberty that they embraced, but counterproductive and doomed to failure in the long run.

Wanting to work is no crime. Working is no crime. Wanting to provide for one's family is no crime. Expecting to be treated the same as others is not crime. Expecting to be judged on the basis of one's individual merits and actions, or lack thereof, is no crime. Doing the same things that all good citizens do on a daily basis is no crime, or else all US citizens are criminals.

Immigration quotas that discriminate against Phillipinos, Mexicans, Latin Americans, Catholics, and Christians are unAmerican and unChristian, and ought to be eliminated outright. Today. Long lines that make the visa approval, residency, and citizenship processes last for decades should be streamlined. Immediately. Ellis Island processing never took longer than a few hours and served our country very well. Limiting visas for 'unskilled' workers to 5,000 per year, when our nation's businesses need hundreds of thousands over and above what natural US population growth can provide is downright counterproductive and against our own self interest. Like all other quotas, this attempt to have centrally controlled government social engineering is no replacement for the free market and individual liberty.

That's BS! My grandparents came here on a boat, ala Godfather II, landed at Ellis Island, went through legally, and then proceeded to work and make a life for themselves -- and us descendants.

totally agree !!!!

I can't agree that raising the standards in other countries is something their countrieds should do. Every time the US tries to help, especially in latin American countries in out hemisphere, it becomes convenient for some despot like Hugo Chavez to point north and claim the gringo inperialistas are interfereing and exploiting. I do agree with your first part though. If we kept it simple it should not be all that difficult to come up with a reasonable way to have the people from our neighborhood work with us in a controlled manner.

The real problem is that our government refuses to enforce our immigration laws. Rather than keep illegals out of our country, they chose to sue Arizona for the crime of enforcing our laws.

Agree with Reggie and NOT Black Lake. It's our government that is a bigger problem due to inaction in making the employers pay dearly when caught hiring the illegals.

While I agree that companies should not hire illegals, I think it would be a mistake to say that they are the Sole cause of the illegal problem. We provide many incentives and very few disincentives to illegal immigration. We allow birthright citizenship that, while necessary at its inception to protect African Americans, now stands as a perverse incentive to cross the border to have children. Sanctuary cities enhance such incentives. The federal government has told ICE to only deport those illegals who have committed serious crimes which essentially leads to a blind eye policy. And possibly the most infuriating is the fed's treatment of Arizona. We actually live in a society where a U.S. state actually has areas that are not open to U.S. citizens because drug trafficking from a foreign country.

Why persecute immigrants who come here to work? Let them work, pay taxes, and be productive members of the community (all of which they do anyway) without treating them like criminals. Is it a crime to work? Is it a crime to pay taxes? Is it a crime to want to live in a free country? Is it a crime to provide for one's own family? If it is, all US citizens are criminals and always have been, all the way back to the Founding Fathers.

Why punish the companies that hire immigrants? Is it a crime to hire people? Is it a crime to engage in business and generate wealth? If it is, then all US companies are engaged in criminal activity, and have been since our nation was born.

Wouldn't it be better to allow those who have the drive and ambition to come to the United States to do so with our blessings? That way we could keep track of everyone here, offer citizenship to those who deserve it, give temporary worker status to those who wish only to stay a while, remove the small number who warrant it, and truly control our border.

There is nothing about SB 1070 that enforces US immigration law, and no part of SB 1070 addresses the border.

As written, SB 1070 violates several clauses of the US Constitution. It is not only bad law, it is stupid law.

Perhaps we should handle this "Problem" much in the same way as we did our "Indian" problem! Our government with the blessings of the people have tried for centuries to get them (Gone) But guess what, they weren't even illegals! This was their land, as well as much of this United States was Mexico's land till we took it away! Let't start a march of all illegals from New York all across the US in the worst possible weather we can find and get them (Gone Too). Is that the final solution for some of you?

OK, no jobs for the illegals. What about welfare, health care, schools and sob sister charities that will support and maintain them here anyway?

Black Lake K, It's so amazing that you mention that. I believe like you that both parties want these illegal aliens here because then their buddies in the corporate world can get cheap labor. Our politicians are very smart to turn this into a political issue, that way the problem will never be solved, our leaders can only hope for that. The beliefs of 1 political party have never taken precedence over this country and our politicians know that by turning this into a political issue they can then transform it into a controversial debate. Most americans are against illegal immigration but our media and our leaders WANT us to think it's a 50/50 split, that way we fight it among ourselves while corporate greed makes more money.

commonsense.... has no idea what he's talking about, don't worry people. He's one of those that spend the whole day looking for articles on illegal immigration so then he can persuade us into thinking we should embrace illegal aliens and give them the same rights that citizens do. He must get off knowing he leaves BS comments on here, what's worse is that he rarely comes back to defend his opinoin. We all should know not to believe his kumbaya crap.

I live in AZ we get hundreds everyday, we need help with border protection, we have 1800 hundred miles of border, our guys do a good job it's just very big out there in the desert. I personally have been affected by this. Some one with a very heavy Mexican accent wanted to sell me my little dog back after dog napping it. I don't pay things like that,never saw my puppy again. Called police they even talked to the guy on the phone, they told me that there bosses would laugh them out of the squad room if they pursued this person.

they've already infiltrated almost every community across this country. There is one New England state which doesn't report an explosive teenage birth rate ...wonder why?

What don't these boneheads in OUR capital understand

A better question is what doesn't the American public understand? The elected officials will not act in our best interests because there are too many votes and too much special interest money to be had in opposing a rational immigration policy, and too little understanding of the FACTS.

Fact: for most people, there is no legal option for immigration. Our current system is geared toward family unification, and while that's good, the waiting list lasts decades and no one qualifies unless they have the "right" type of relative already living in the United States.

Fact: current immigration law discourages assimilation. Many new US residents are prohibited from workingfor a period of several years, instead of being allowed to work immediately. What is the point of that?

Fact: undocumented immigrants are more likely to be employed, less likely to receive government assistance of any kind (they are ineligible for welfare), and FAR less likely to commit a felony than US citizens.

Fact: the quota for unskilled laborers is 5,000 per year. The free market demand for unskilled laborers, over and above what the US can supply domestically, is between 200,000 and 500,000, depending on economic conditions. This is only one reason our factories are moving overseas.

Fact: immigrants, and even undocumented immigrants counted separately, pay more in taxes than they receive in government services (unlike US citizens in jurisdiction that operate on government deficits).

Fact: The ecnomic productivity of immigrants, both documented and undocumented, expands the US economy, creating more jobs for US citizens than they take away. The number of jobs is not a fixed number. Each worker generates employment for others by purchasing groceries, clothing, a place to live, etc.

Commonsense the vast majority of everything you just stated are not facts they are misconstrued statements and in some cases completely false. Most of what you said can not be proven or disproven you are completely speaking nonSense not commonsense. Sorry

Where are you getting these "facts"?

I am getting so tired of having to explain the situation in response to posts like this. Okay, one more time, short and sweet:

My immigrant relatives and your Scotch-Irish ancestors came to the U.S. LEGALLY! They waited their turn, performed all the required activities, and satisfied the requirements to legally immigrate to the U.S.A. They played by the rules and made a home where their families and heirs could prosper and be proud Americans.

What people are talking about here is ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION - people breaking the law of the very country they want to be part of. It's amazing to me that the first act these people perform in their pursuit of U.S. citizenship is to break the law. Wouldn't it stand to reason, going forward, that they'd be willing to break additional laws to get what they want? That's not somebody I want as a fellow countryman.

And finally, the tired idea of "indigenous peoples of North America." Every person in North America emigrated from somewhere else, including the Indians. The origin of every person in the U.S. can be traced back to an immigrant, but unfortunately, not always a legal immigrant.

Allen Shore, what you say is not true:

My immigrant relatives and your Scotch-Irish ancestors came to the U.S. LEGALLY! They waited their turn, performed all the required activities, and satisfied the requirements

• Your Scotch-Irish ancestors did NOT satisfy current immigration law.
• Your Scotch-Irish ancestors did NOT wait for their turn.
• Your Scotch-Irish ancestors did NOT perform any of the currently required activities.
• Your Scotch-Irish ancestors did NOT do anything to satisfy any requirements.

Your Scotch-Irish ancestors came here before the current (bad) immigration system was put in place. No visa was required. No government permission was required. There were no waiting lists prior to obtaining a visa (because no visas were required). The Declaration of Independence labels the King of England a tyrant, in part because he imposed unreasonable restriction on immigration (the real Minute Men were the OPPOSITE of today's imposters). It was over a hundred years before we began putting restrictions on immigration, and even then, we sought only to keep out the diseased, the insane, and people of unsuitable moral turpitude, whatever that is.

If you believe that today's immigrants should act as your ancestors did, the picture of the train should not bother you. Your ancestors came on a boat, and did nothing to earn admission beyond show up. These people are on a train, and are doing the exact same thing your ancestors did to earn admission by merely showing up.

commonsense.... Oh yeah, there is no difference between some immigrants of today sneaking across the border and immigrants showing up at Ellis Island to present themselves at custom agents in the past. Yes our immigration laws have changed in the past 150 years - so are you telling us that today's immigrants shouldn't have to follow them because they were different 150 years ago and it would be 'unfair'? Current laws are supposed to be followed aren't they? Geez I hope you aren't a cop because then I'd be afraid you would be enforcing the law from at least a century ago.

Don't spew crap on here if you don't have the reproductive hardware to defend your backward views.

I'm latino and I agree with eliminating all sanctions to illegals and mandating E-verify so don't give me that racism bull

Thank you for sharing your story and your honesty. It's people like you that make America great. It is stories like yours that should really open up the minds of others. Best of luck to you!!!!

Legal, the answer is simple. For a few there is a legal pathway. For many people no such pathway exists. For still others there is a pathway, but that pathway requires remaining outside the United States for decades.

But you are not really an immigrant, are you?

I think your heart is kinds halfway in the right place, but you obviously have no clue how the US Immigration system works. These people cant just "apply" for citizenship, and work visas are extremely limited and only for farmworkers and highly skilled professionals. Please do a little reading before you make dumb statements.

Illegals can apply for citizenship and you are wrong about the visas:

• reside in a particular district before filing
• an ability to read, write, and speak English
• a knowledge and understanding of U.S. history and government
• good moral character
• attachment to the principles of the U.S. Constitution and,
• favorable disposition toward the United States
• a petitioner
• a sponsor

for more information see

http://www.uscis.gov/naturalization

if a person has resided in the United States, whether legally or illegally, since January 1, 1972, he can now qualify for a Green Card

I have read probably more than I want to about the subject because all illegals no matter the country puts a strain on our economy. The information above is from the taken directly from the USCIS website.

Legal One, the answer is simple. For some, there is a legal pathway. For most, there is not.

But I do not believe that you are an immigrant.

TLD2010, what you say about applying for citizenship is simply not true, but I agree with you wholeheartedly that it should be.

The requirements you refer to apply to people who have already been granted permanent residency.

TLD, who said anything abut 'racism'? What you believe to be true ("All anyone has to do is apply for a citizenship or have a current work visa") would be GREAT.

The tragedy is that it just isn't true. Most people are barred from applying for an entry visa, much less citizenship. We should issue a work permit to anyone who wants one. We should let everyone here apply for citizenship.

So, not just concentration camps, but actual extermination camps?

You guys lost World War II, but I guess you're ready to make a comeback. I see people are voting in support of your comment.

God help us.

they're not riding the trains across the border, they're riding TO the border. Then they find a way to sneak across. Lots of other countries have guest worker programs. What's wrong with us?

And you are pathetic for using the Nazi analogy.

The immigration issue has been an issue since the beginning. When the Spanish came, then the English then the French. All these people came to America for a reason, and that reason was a better life. All immigrant groups have had to face the same discrimination that the Latinos are facing today. The Eastern Europeans, the Chinese, Japanese and so on an so forth. But they all came because they where enticed by the the people here in America EXAMPLE THE BRACERO PROGRAM. Just like the Americans were enticed to come to Texas in promises of land, work and money. The immigrants of today are the same. They are enticed by our freedoms, money, land but like all immigrants from the past they have shaped and kept our country prospering. MOST WORK HARD! They buy and spend like everyone else and every time they spend they pay tax's. People say immigrants do not contribute to America. That IS A LIE. Everything around us has been built by immigrants and will continue to be. The school, the office buildings, churches, streets, railroads, our economy and so on.

jklivin, take a look at post #19 and explain why you believe the Nazi analogy is lame.

@commonsense............do you have a answer as to why Mexico building a wall is okay? I am asking a real question. If the US enforcement of immigration is so bad why would Mexico be doing the same thing, be alright? No one has ever answered that question. And I hope I read your comment wrong..my family suffered in Germany, had loved ones taken to "work camps" , Auschwitz is were they ended up! This question is NOTHING compared to the current immigration situation. Both parties throw racism and "nazism" out there and have no idea what the hell they are talking about, having never lived it!

Stay back East Native Whitewolf!

Scotch is an alcoholic beverage NOT a race of people. I think you mean the Scots or Scottish people. The rest of your "facts" are about as accurate.