It is difficult to have an exact figure because the illegal nature of their presence prevents any enumeration, but the U.S. Census Bureau estimated 8.7 million illegal aliens were here in 2000, and immigration officials estimate that the illegal alien population grows by 500,000 every year."
Place the figures where they best fit the agenda, for nobody can put a definitive number on it, I guess it is open for any number that suites the individual placing them.
Like I have previously conveyed, one way to alleviate the problem is to bring the full force of government down on it, spend much more money than we already have, and at the same time we can pay much higher taxes to pay for the crackdown, thus there goes our personal freedoms sucked further down the whirlpool of the drain.
Granted, I AM flagged when political jargon is spewed in reference to ILLEGAL aliens. After all, many of us lifetime citizens have to suffer the long arm of the law from speeding tickets to protecting our property and in some cases, I'm sure, can be very detrimental to a family's livelihood.
IMHO, cracking down on an "illegal" alien should be a primary concern.
Through lawful means, not by taking more freedoms away from us law abiding citizens to justify another political agenda.