[Hop A Long Cassidy]

You are making several big assumptions:

1) no one (or some very small quantity) is admitting they snuck across the border,

2) there is no way that anyone can prove they lived in this country (via receipts, remembrance of addresses, places of birth, etc.) that could be used before adjudication.

I would think there's adjudication if there's a dispute.

But if Jose can't remember where he was born, or if there is no record online of his birth, or if there is no such address, and if he is using an invalid social security number (of a dead person say), then it's time for him to go back across the border.

And then, what about the illegal aliens that are visa overstayers -- why are they in this country? Your answer does not address this issue.

You must want them to stay here. Why do THEY get to set immigration policy. WHY CAN'T AMERICANS DETERMINE IT'S IMMIGRATION POLICY.

[tobyhill]

They didn't set up the policies our Government did and no I don't want them to stay. They are defendants and are afforded the same presumptions of innocence as anyone in America. There is adjudication before deportation but it's not as quick as I or anyone else would like it and that's where the congress plays the role of creating laws to expedite the process. Uncontested is minimum 72 hours, contested is sometimes 3 months.