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Having watched the interview in question (and at this point being barely able to take the blowhard O’Reilly’s interview style), I have to say that Palin was not ready for the follow up question - once the border is sealed, what do you do? She fumbled it, tried to steer around it, and there was my ole buddy O’Reilly to make hay of it...

You have to be ready for that follow up and it has to be clear. Securing the border is the easy part. How, as a humane, compassionate, sophisticated Nation, do we handle millions of illegal immigrants, who in many ways are integrated into our economy, and somehow also honor our laws, morals, and Freedom?

Just take the Central Valley of CA. Who do you think is going to pick the food that is critical to not only CA, but the rest of the Nation? It’s hellacious work and I am not sure that a reasonable solution for just that area alone exists. We do have unemployed people in the country who could do the work, but the wages are low, the work tough, and we have raised a generation or two of very, very lazy people used to the government teet.

Whatever happens, Palin needs a concise, quick, and decisive answer to that follow up question that directly deals with the question and shows leadership. They will chew her up on the national stage without it...

JMHO

RE: How, as a humane, compassionate, sophisticated Nation, do we handle millions of illegal immigrants, who in many ways are integrated into our economy, and somehow also honor our laws, morals, and Freedom?

I get the impression that many FReepers consider the answer to the above question quite straightforward -— FIND THEM AND DEPORT THEM. SEND THEM AND THEIR CHILDREN HOME ( yes, even kids born here in the USA who are considered citizens ).

Easier said than done of course.

That is why I support the Arizona Law. That is the most reasonable step towards enforcing the law in this country.
Evolution, not revolution.

We need a President that’s supportive of laws like these.
If we have such a president, I think that once many other states begin to emulate Arizona, we would see illegals AVOIDING these states and moving to sanctuary states and cities. Once the problems begin to compound in sanctuary cities and people begin to see problems lessened in tough enforcing cities, support for enforcement will skyrocket even more.

THAT is my personal take on the problem. Sarah Palin ought to consider that too.

Just take the Central Valley of CA. Who do you think is going to pick the food that is critical to not only CA, but the rest of the Nation? It’s hellacious work and I am not sure that a reasonable solution for just that area alone exists.

We ought to revisit the BRACERO PROGRAM that was implemented in this country in the 1940's and 1950's.

The program mandated a certain level of wages, housing, food and medical care for the workers (to be paid for by the employers) that kept the standard of living above what many had in Mexico. Not only did this enable many to send funds home to their families, but it also had the unintended effect of encouraging illegal immigration when the USA's workers quotas were met.

Yes, mistakes were made, but if we ENFORCE IT STRICTLY ( there goes the phrase again ), that program could answer your question.

The program existed from 1942-64, primarily utilized as an agricultural agreement. Laborers from Mexico would come into the United States, harvest crops and be paid a prevailing wage. After their work, they go back home and can re-apply to come back to work during the next harvest.

Cesar Chavez was instrumental in dismantling the Bracero program, in favor of providing those same jobs to American agricultural workers at a prevailing wage. Chavez opposed illegal immigration vehemently up to his passing in 1993.

At its height in the late 1950s, Bracero enrollment totalled about 500,000.

More importantly, the Bracero program worked

It’s worth it. Let’s take a look at this program.

Citizenship should not be offered at this time to anyone who breaks America’s first law by entering the United States illegally.

I believe most Mexicans simply want to feed their families by making a decent wage they cannot earn back home. Well, why not reconsider BRACERO ?

“How, as a humane, compassionate, sophisticated Nation, do we handle millions of illegal immigrants, who in many ways are integrated into our economy, and somehow also honor our laws, morals, and Freedom?”

Please help me to understand how violation of our immigration laws translates into illegal immigrants “honoring our laws”?

"You have to be ready for that follow up and it has to be clear. Securing the border is the easy part. How, as a humane, compassionate, sophisticated Nation, do we handle millions of illegal immigrants, who in many ways are integrated into our economy, and somehow also honor our laws, morals, and Freedom?"

That's just as easy. We handle them by SELF DEPORTATION. Simple. Make it hard for them to get the jobs, the schooling, the health care, etc. and viola! They self-deport. BUT, ALL the States have to do that. Can't make it easy for them to run to another State - that's just self defeating.