We have totally screwed up what once was a migrant labor force that moved back and forth and transited the border when the work was done or there was a hiatus.
I understand your post, and your logically-placed intention... however, illegals are no longer "migrant workers". They are waiters and busboys and house framers and manicurists and delivery boys and shop clerks. They are absolutely doing jobs that Americans would do. I lived in Los Angeles for a decade and I can tell you that they are taking jobs that citizens want.
I don't know what the solution is. Well, except for my imperialistic desire to take over Mexico... we're paying the bills, but without the bonus of additional beachfront property.
Certainly worthy of consideration and likely somewhere down the line as the future unfolds.
I concur that a large number of illegals have now achieved a sort of non-citizen residency that is stable, but it was a natural progression.
I believe that they would return to a migrant pattern is we made it so. I also realize that some want to stay and become Americans.
We have to address all the motivations and use their own momentum to gain control of the problem. We cannot take all of them, or Mexico would be empty....LOL:-) but we need to control the numbers in a way that the numbers adjust to the economic needs.
A return to the migrant pattern is one way to do that. The other way is the green card.
This is what makes Bush's worker class visa system attractive to me and I think it could work, enhance security and take the pressures off the border at the same time.
And roofers and carpenters and many more jobs. They have managed to bring down the wages in many areas so that Americans "won't do" the jobs...read priced out of the market by those that can work for much less for many reasons. Not the least of which is crowded housing, cash payments and no taxes in some cases, etc.
They know if they slip out of the migrant jobs they can find it easier to disappear into the woodwork and stay. Illegally.
Oh and Hi AnnaZ...nice to see you posting your thoughts here again ;>)