[kwagner99]

Here are the inconvenient truths that the anti-immigrant crowd needs to come to grips with:
1. The illegals are here, and they will continue to come, no matter what boondoggle project Republicans push, be it a fence, or more govenment crackdowns, or more border patrol agents. Remember the War On Drugs? All that did was fill the prisons with first-time offenders, raise the price paid on the street, and increase the amount of violence associated with the drug trade. Drug use is at an all-time high (no pun intended!) and continues to rise! However, it is highly profitable for the law enforcement and prison industries, which was precisely the point behind the war on drugs. So drain the treasury by building ineffectual fences and staffing the border with more law enforcement. It won't do a whit of good, other than to burnish some politician's street cred with the Deliverance Wing of the Republican Party, while going against every conservative principle Republicans claim to believe in. (What's a little hypocrisy when there is money to be made, eh?)
2. Regarding equillibrium: You can't defy the laws of physics. Balance will eventually come, whether it fits your ideology or not. I will stand firmly behind the sciences on this one, economic, physical, and sociological. So we can either choose to fight a losing battle against the trends, or we can find a way to take positive advantage of the situation.
3. More citizens means more people paying into the Social Security system. The new money flowing into the system will ensure the solvency of the program forever. (Yes, there are studies by respect economist that show this. I can dig one up if you'd like.) Republicans hate this idea, because it takes away any and all arguements they have for privitizing the system (another boondoggle!). Why do Republicans hate working people?
4. The vast majority of illegals in the country are here to work. They don't "sponge off the system". Yes, their children are filling up the schools, and county hospitals are having budget issues. This can be solved many different ways if we choose to do so. Of course, if we do so, Republicans loose another argument against more immigration, and Democrats gain lots of new voters (unless you can embrace them, rather than criminalize them).
5. I often hear the specious argument that illegals do jobs that American's won't do. If that is the case, why do you want to send them back? We need people to do those jobs. The truth is, they do jobs that Americans won't do for below-poverty wages!
6. If you really want to keep illegals out of the country, there is a really simple answer: Make it a crime, punishable by prison time, to hire an illegal alien, whether knowingly or unknowingly. Take away all incentive to skirt the rules and the jobs go away. No jobs for illegals means no illegals coming here for jobs. Back it up by throwing business owners, managers, and officers in prison for a very long time, with no consideration for "first-time offense", no time off for good behavior, and no buying their way out of it with a fine. This should cause business people to be very diligent when verifying documentation, so that the only people who get jobs are the ones that are legally entitled to them. (BTW, there are already systems in place to verify documentation, business are just not required to use them, and they are allowed to use the "I didn't know the documents were forged" excuse on purpose.) Of course, this will have the effect of raising the wages neccessary to attract Americans to these jobs, but hey, I'm all for that anyway. That way the government won't need to raise the minimum wage, as the great invisible hand of the market will do it. (How's that for an example of the power of truly free markets, something Republicans say they believe in, but rarely actually practice?)
7. There is no way to round up, process and remove all illegals from this country. It is physically and financially ipossible. Impossible. Impossible (I can't stress that enough)!
8. Labeling me a liberal does not make the problem go away. Understanding why we are in this situation, and the motivation behind it, is the key to finding a workable solution, even if it doesn't fit with your cherished ideology. Sorry, dude.