[Bronco_Buster_FweetHyagh]

"If you think we should have open borders and that we should give everything to illegals, then put your money where your mouth is."

Ordinarily, I do not respond to straw-man arguments. But I believe your intentions are good, and that in general, you raise some valid points, so I will respond.

I never said that I believe we should have "open borders" or that we should "give everything to illegals." In fact, I do not believe either of those things.

My point is that we need to look at the bigger picture, and not just have knee-jerk reactions to "illegal immigration." It's a complicated issue. And, I think it's hypocritical for our country to benefit from illegal immigrant labor, then treat illegal aliens with such disrespect and contempt.

If we REALLY wanted to stop illegal immigration, we could do it. But we don't. Why? Follow the dollar. We benefit from illegal immigration - that's our dirty little secret. All those businesses who survive off cheap labor, all those people who pay less for goods and services than they otherwise would have to pay - they don't want illegal immigrant labor to dry up. They want to have their cake and eat it too...

I'm for intellectual honest and basic human decency - either way. Either we tighten up our borders, arrest and deport illegal immigrants, and pay the increased costs of goods and services, OR we acknowledge our desire for the cheap labor, and treat them with basic human dignity and the kind of respect and justice talked about in the Bible.

[Lazamataz]

If we REALLY wanted to stop illegal immigration, we could do it. But we don't. Why? Follow the dollar. We benefit from illegal immigration - that's our dirty little secret. All those businesses who survive off cheap labor, all those people who pay less for goods and services than they otherwise would have to pay - they don't want illegal immigrant labor to dry up. They want to have their cake and eat it too...

I'm for intellectual honest and basic human decency - either way. Either we tighten up our borders, arrest and deport illegal immigrants, and pay the increased costs of goods and services, OR we acknowledge our desire for the cheap labor, and treat them with basic human dignity and the kind of respect and justice talked about in the Bible.

I think I can agree with this position, but I'll be damned if I surrender to the second option. The first is, im my mind, a requirement.