Sorry, but you don't get to choose what laws to obey and not obey. I disagree with your basic premise. The laws are not unenforceable, and in fact they are being enforced in a half-hearted way. We are a sovereign nation, which has defineable and enforceable borders. No country in the world allows people to enter their country without permission, i.e., legally. How would you change the laws?
And I think as a nation we should encourage citizenship for the people who are living here..
Only if they are in this country legally. We do have a system that allows Legal Permanent Residents, i.e., those with green cards, to apply for and receive citizenship. If you subscribe to the idea that anyone who gets into this country, even illegally, should be allowed to stay and become citizens, then there will be billions who will see that signal and try to get here.
I hope you understand that if you legalize the status of illegals already here, they can in turn sponsor tens of millions more LEGAL immigrants thru chain migration, i.e., family reunification. Even if you assume that there are only 12 million illegals here now, that would result in an additional 66 MILLION LEGAL IMMIGRANTS per the Heritage Foundation estimate made by Robert Rector. We can't absorb those kinds of numbers.
Well said, kabar!
The entire premise is incorrect because it operates on the false notion that there are only 12 million illegals in the U.S. (CENSUS, Pew)...when in fact, the actual number in 40 million or more. 5,000 to 10,000 illegals break into the U.S. every day, and they aren’t going back...at least, not until all states crack down on illegals and employers.
Change the laws by making it possible to come here in compliance with them. As it stands a British PhD or Swedish fashion model needs to go through unbelievable hoops to get a legal work permit here. For a lawnmower from Chiapas who doesn’t have a paid staff to go wait in those lines for him, that’s impossible. But the vast majority would be happy to register and be here legally, however faced with the choice between breaking an unenforced law, or not feeding their family, they go with breaking the unenforced law.