Whatever did I say that gave you the impression I was anti-immigrant? I'm not. And no conservative is.
But every conservative should be anti- anything that is illegal. And the issue is more accurately described as about "illegal aliens", not "illegal immigrants" -- because the term "immigrant" connotes a legal status.
At that, I am not against the illegal aliens themselves. I'm not looking to punish them in any way (nor reward them, either) -- except that they must return to their countries of origin before they can apply and be considered for legal immigration.
And I'm 100% in favor of streamlining our immigration procedures -- so that those who want to immigrate (and are needed) can be processed more quickly, painlessly and cheaper. Like every federal bureaucracy, the INS can be made more responsive.
At the same time, I'm in favor of tightening visa enforcement -- another area of significant abuse by other, non-Hispanic illegal immigrants. Any alien who overstays his visa should be sought out and deported.
True, there are a few anti-immigrant cranks in the anti-illegal alien movement. But please don't tar the rest of us with that same brush.
Fair enough. The article above didn't involve illegals at all. I am not particularly excited about illegals after spending five years getting my Canadian wife's green card finalized. Would the Pence bill work for you? I thought that was an honest approach to a thorny problem. BTW, in Canada, certain classes of immigrants are told where they have to start out. That approach might be worth considering so that Arizona, California and Texas don't have to bear the whole burden of dealing with legal immigration.