[FerociousRabbit]

The one important thing missing from the piece is a link to Rand Paul’s Washington Times piece. So, here it is: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/feb/8/sen-rand-paul-trust-verify-immigration-reform/

This is probably Paul’s weakest area. I completely agree with him on the vast majority of issues and vehemently oppose him on a few.

You may not agree with all parts of his plan but at least he has one that secures the border, creates a visa tracking system and places illegals at the back of the line (all good things). No mass deportations is missing as is giving legal work status to illegals and this is where I completely disagree with him.

So, there you have the real and Paul. Have any other GOP presidential hopefuls put forth a plan that goes beyond this? It’s not a rhetorical question, I am genuinely interested in knowing.

[C. Edmund Wright]

It is Rand’s weakest area, but the author alludes to something that a lot of people are guilty of - thinking that all illegals are avoiding taxes - and conversely assuming that all natives are proud tax paying free enterprisers. If we could understand the following, at least some of the heat would be removed from this issue. Most, or at least many, working illegals do have taxes withheld. Many Americans demand to be paid under the table, and there’s a huge economy out there of part time artists and musicians who work for cash, and get government bennies like EBT cards, unemployment, etc - and they are mostly natives.

A little more light and a little less heat would help us understand these arguments better. I don’t particularly care about the “heartless” aspect that Rand and Perry seem hung up on, but the cold hard reality is important to me.

[Pelham]

If there is no deportation then we have defacto amnesty.

California is filled with foreign nationals squatting here illegally. Why can we not elect politicians willing to enforce the law?

Instead we get clowns like Dubya who fought hard to reward illegals with amnesty.

[TigersEye]

He's right on no mass deportations. Insisting on that is politically and financially stupid. If the GOP stands on that point it will lose resoundingly on the entire issue every time. It is totally unnecessary to boot.

• Deport illegal aliens on contact with LE.
• Enforce the law vigorously on employers of illegals.
• Strong border security. Build the physical fence and use high-tech surveillance.
• Eliminate entitlements for illegal aliens except for true emergency care.
• End the "anchor baby" policy.

Do those things and illegal aliens will self-deport and self-finance the trip. We don't need to spend a dime to round them up and ship them out. We don't need to make any new laws other than for the "anchor baby" policy changes.