"What do any of these things have to do with citizenship?"
Here in LA, day workers are paid by cash, under the table. Honest businesses paying workers comp and withholding income taxes cannot compete...
As for the crimes, illegles often cannot be prosecuted
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1120760/posts Illegal aliens suspected of fraud go free
Therefore, to claim this asylum and receive the treatment outside of our laws, one just has to say they are an illegal immigrant!