I would venture that at least half of the illegal aliens are working in the underground economy and are contributing zilch when it comes to payroll and income taxes.
Here's a thread on how these scams work in the construction biz:
Building industry wages probed (Immigrant Labor Scheme Alleged)
So you either prefer a SS tax increase or you bring in more legals? Let's make sure we're on the same page here. There is no choice at all. The mathematics of pensions is inescapable. Our retirees are going to be destitute if there is a tax base reduction through deportation.
How does bringing in more legals differ from providing a mechanism for illegals to become legals?
The illegals have been here a while, may have some English now, know something of the country and sign up to jump through the hoops required of them to become legal. Why is this a disciplined procedure different from . . . or inferior to . . . bringing in new legals?
From a purely efficient perspective in terms of SS tax base, it makes no sense to toss out people who know their jobs and bring in possibly defective newbies.