“The questions become, can we have a flourishing economy while also supporting as many as 40 million illegal immigrants?”
The question is how do we break the cycle of “supporting” these people? Shouldn’t the focus be on assimilating them into the economy?
They are NOT going to be deported, they will stay here, the question is, under what status and conditions.
Lowering the higher education costs on par with citizens is an economic argument. Will the cost to the taxpayer be repaid in future productivity of these people? The best guess is yes.
The illegals seeking a college education are the cream of the crop. The payback becomes that in our future economy they are givers, not takers
This is the position taken by even conservative politicians and it is a shame to see them eaten by our own
If you are ok with illegal immigration, and take the position that immigration law should not be enforced, then you are not a conservative by any reasonable definition.
As for breaking the cycle, making it more difficult to work and live in the US without legal residency is the key to making illegal immigration a less attractive option.