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continued....Given these facts, making sure that everyone on the road is properly trained and licensed to drive, regardless of their status in the U.S., is hardly a major concession and helps to promote public safety for everyone. For that matter, in-state tuition promotes enrollment at local schools and helps students who are "stateless" by circumstance and not choice to have a chance at a future either here or elsewhere. It's sadly and deceptively easy to turn the most vulnerable among us into scapegoats for problems that can only be solved by critical thinking and cooperation. But, when it comes to immigrants, the American way is to do all that we can to keep faith with the people who have come here to keep faith with the American dream. We all benefit when we do more than worry about whether their papers are in order. Cynthia B. Rosenberg, Baltimore The writer is chair of the D.C. chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

For once I would really like in letters such as this pointing out how illegal aliens live honest lives and work hard to pay taxes for benefits they may never receive such as Social Security and unemployment benefits.How it came to be any illegal alien has employment and with what documents permit them to be in a position to pay any state or federal taxes.She claims illegals are not liars.To the extent illegal aliens are having taxes withheld from their checks indicates a lot lying took place upon applying for the job fraudulent documents had to be used. Illegals are not showing up giving only their tax id number and getting jobs from them. She is also implying that illegals we know who are using fake or stolen documents cannot share and have Social Security and unemployment benefits from the Americans whose social security card that was stolen from them is expected to share his/her social security retiremet funds with illegals using the number and also collect unemployment from the stolen number or from the fake number. It is also distrubing how illegal aliens are given employment in nursing homes.How would any illegal pass a background check to work in any nursing home. Sure illegals would never lie to the irs about child tax credits for children who could be in Mexico or who are just made up. Surely illegals driving without licenses and insurance were really not breaking the law and when they cause an accident, to see them taking off and fleeing in her world does not mean they are guilty .

Baltimore Sun :”They live honest lives and work hard to pay taxes for benefits they may never receive such as Social Security and unemployment benefits. According to the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy, for 2010 alone, undocumented immigrants in Maryland paid $275.2 million in state and local taxes. In fact, according to the Perryman Group, if all undocumented immigrants were removed from Maryland, the state would lose $15.3 billion in economic activity, $6.8 billion in gross state product and over 70,000 jobs. And, on a national level, the Congressional Budget Office has estimated that if the comprehensive immigration legislation passed last summer by the U.S. Senate was enacted, it would add nearly a trillion dollars in federal tax revenues.”

WOW, look at all those taxes that illegals pay.

But he forgot to mention they get food stamps and EITC, and would get even more if legal.

Contrary to popular belief, many "illegal" immigrants entered the country lawfully and only fell out of lawful status because of the complexity and expense of trying to navigate an immigration system that is almost designed not to work for anyone.

LOL. They probably came here on tourist or student visas and think that they can then turn it into permanent legal immigrant status. Our system doesn't work that way. If they wanted to come as permanent legal immigrants, they should apply in their home countries. Unfortunately, we have too many changes in status of illegal aliens who are in this country. When you reward something, you get more of it. We take in 1.2 million legal immigrants a year, more than the rest of the world combined. Immigration to the US is a privilege, not a right.

I agree with you on the issue of SS and taxes. It is against the law for an illegal alien to work here and it is against the law for someone to employ them. Using phony or stolen SSNs should be reason enough to prevent someone from being legalized. The should be deported since they are already breaking our laws being here,