I have been watching all of the news stories about this issue of immigration and I all I hear about is how the protestors feel and what their issues are. But the huge number of protestors only prove to me how big of an issue ILLEGAL immigration is. There is a reason why it is called "ILLEGAL" immigration. I know that not all people protesting are illegal, but aftr hearing the interviews with the protestors it sounds like many people are illegal or have family and friends that are. I understand that one point in the protests is to show how badly this country needs immigrant workers. I have heard on the news that these people are saying that they do the jobs that we won't do. Well, first I believe that people would do them. There are many people that are here legally that want and need these jobs and would be willing to do them. Secondly, if it is correct that US citizens do not want to do these jobs because of the hard physical labor and poor pay, then it only goes to show that the people doing these jobs should be getting paid more. So, as long as we have ILLEGAL immigrants willing to take these jobs for such a low wage it only makes it unneccesary for the employers to pay a fair wage to their employees. Why would the employers pay more if they don't have to? Also, by not cracking down on ILLEGAL immigration the taxpayers of the US are really being cheated. Business owners want to make money. So, if someone is here illegally and needs a job, they would be more willing to take a lower paying job if they can get paid under the table. Which means they are not having to report their income and pay the proper taxes and the employers don't have to pay the workman's comp. Therefore, they are cheating the US citizens of this country. We also are having to pay for more police,hopitals,emergency workers, schools, clinics, etc,because the more people we have in this country the more services that need to be provided. Yet, the ILLEGAL immigrants who force us to have more of these services are not contributing to the cost to have them. The people who live here legally are being forced to provide the basic rights of being a US Citizen to people who's first act in this country was to break on of our laws by not going through the process of becoming a US Citizen. Doesn't this seem backwards to anyone? I believe that the majority of US Citizens both want and believe that people should be able to immigrate to this country, but we have a system that allows people to immigrate to this country legally for that purpose. I firmly believe that we need to crack down on ILLEGAL immigration and I do not believe that ILLEGAL immigrants should be granted anything other than punishment for breaking our laws! We are only encouraging more people to break the law if we ignore the crime of sneaking into this country illegally. How can we expect others to go through the long and extensive requirements of becoming a US Citizen when they are able to see (even on the news) that there is no punishment or consequences if they live here illegally? It is also my understanding that identity thief is one of the biggest crimes (if not the #1 crime) in the US. When we allow people to live here illegally without cracking down on this crime, we are only giving a bigger demand for illegal documents, including identity. Anyone ever hear of supply and demand? We must crack down on ILLEGAL immigration in order to lower our taxes, increase our wages, protect our privacy, improve our education system, decrease the need for more police, and give this country the security it so desparately needs.

Yes, almost all of our families were imigrants at one time. All became citizens. If you want to work here, you should do so legally. My taxes and social security and medicare fees are going to support these people, not our seniors. Now, I don't mind supporting Americans that need help (and sending aide to foreign countries), but please don't tell me I need to learn Spanish to get along - you are in MY country and I will willingly share it with you, but play by the rules and learn the language if you really want to be here so badly. The people hiring illegal imigrants should be fined a whopping fine AND help them become citizens.

After reading many of the comment left by people across the country both legal immigrants and illegal illegal immigrants there are many thoughts that come to mind. One of the comments made by an illegal immigrant in which I will not mention by name, is the jobs he had quoted " that white people dont want to do" To counter that comment, there are many americans across the country whom come from poverty stricken homes. It is not that they do not want to work,it is maybe because the resources to obtain that job is not there. Or is stricken by the drug addiction, drugs was smuggled through the borders illegally, the same path as illegal immigrants came.
I would like to counter that if illegal immigrants somehow are able to work here legally, would you be working for the same low pay that you were working before? Yeah, I didnt think so. You would become more demanding on pay, and also demand some sort of equal rights, then all hell would break loose those illegal immigrants would then demand medical, educational, housing, welfare, and other benefits included on the list. For those that come here legally those are the ones whom deserve all of the above, it would be a slap in the face for those whom had to adapt and conform to American culture and also learn the English language and had done it the legal way written by the law. By conforming to the hispanic language and the Mexican culture it encourages more illegal immigrants to swarm on in, because it means we are conforming to them. By encouraging the American people to learn Spanish as a second language. This allows these illegal immigrants to recieve a slap on the wrist with their illegal antics, this doesnt discourage them it encourages them to swarm over. With weak borders, does anyone realize how dangerous it is? Terrorist groups can slip in through the mexican borders and set up sleeper cells all across the country.It can be possible, the illegal immigrants crossed it should be difficult for terrorist to do it too.If we legalized these 11 million illegal immigrants, has anybody thought about how our economy would handle this? The American economy is weak, even though Bush says it isnt. Many of our jobs are lost and gone abroad, if we legalized all these illegal immigrants our welfare system would be flooded, our medical facilities will be finacially in trouble, our educational programs would be overcrowded, as well as our economoc stability will be jeopardize, and an increase in Identity fraud. Illegal immigrants are already falsifying documents to slip through the system such as through the health services, getting free shots and fasifying information when they need medical attention.Latino's have a strong belief in Christianity and in the Catholic religion, bearing an average of 4 or more children. Either they are unaware or do not believe in birth control, this would simply collapse the US welfare system, and overcrowd the schools alienating other American children.With such an increase in population, most likelly salariees and wages will eventually decrease because of the plentiful workforce, jeopardizing and alienating American lifestyles. Politicians are trying to appeal to the Latino vote, they should understand the 11 million illegal immigrants are not citizens and are unable to vote. They should start to appeal to the American citizens vote, because we are the onces that are going to make it count.I am a first generation, my parents arrived here to the United States LEGALLY, and we conformed to American society and learned ENGLISH though I do know how to speak another language I interact in mainly English. For the illegal immigrant whom responded to this blog, the politically correct term is "Caucasian" not "White" (SHOW SOME RESPECT!, You are no longer in your motherland anymore!) If you want to stay here learn correct english, and conform to American society, and be grateful you slipped through the cracks. I am Vietnamese born here in the states, and I am grateful to be here. My family and I learned english and conformed, we waited the wait time and stood in those long lines and took the citizenship exams and followed and obeyed the laws, it was a process but we made it. If millions of other people did it why cant you illegals do it to? What makes you guys any diffrent from everyone else that went through the process? You shouldnt get special privilages.

First off, from news reports it seems to me that immigrants and illegal immigrants are getting lumped into one group....all those protestors can't be illegal and the things being said do not pertain to legal immigrants....though a majority of those protesting were illegals....my question is why wasn't anything done with the illegals protesting? I mean, not one was taken into custody by INS!...it seemed like the perfect time to enact some of the laws we already have....

I happened to click on "The Most" this afternoon after reading your mention and stopped clicking. A very interesting concept done very well. I added a new Season Pass to my Tivo. Thanks for the heads-up.

i have an idea how about if we show the illegal immigrants just how much they need us i say we boycott cinco de mayo or maybe no vacations to mexico for awhile and let them feel the impact

The news organizations should correctly state what the marches really were yesterday...they were not for immigrant rights. Immigrants are those who have entered into this country legally, following the laws that are in place for lawfully entering individuals. People, who have filed all the necessary paperwork, hired an attorney and probably waited years to gain legal entry into this country.

The people, who were in the streets of downtown LA marching, holding signs in a foreign language, and speaking in a foreign language and let us not forget waving foreign flags, were "Illegal Aliens". “Illegal Aliens” who are demanding the same rights allotted to legal citizens. Except there is one major item that these “Illegal Aliens” keep forgetting, they entered this country unlawfully and are breaking the law! No one deserves any rights or privileges for violations to our laws! How dare those who are here illegally demand for anything. They need to return to their country the same way they entered ours illegally!

The United States needs to apply the exact same strict rules for “Illegal Aliens” entering this country as Mexico does for its Northern borders. Mexico does not control their borders on their Southern side. It seems as though the Mexican government wants as many of their poor, uneducated and unskilled citizens to enter our country, thereby unburdening the Mexican government from having to support them and provide all their needs. On the northern borders of Mexico there are Military Guards with machine guns ready to shot without a warning anyone trying to enter their country. Wouldn’t it be something if the US protected its borders with the same ferocity that Mexico does?

It feels like we are being invaded in our own country. It is a sad state of affairs when those who are here illegally get better benefits than those retirees who have served our Nation in our time of need (World War I & II, etc) and worked their whole lives contributing to this country. What is wrong with the politicians in this country. People please remember your vote can be your strongest voice. Why are politicians so worried about the “Illegal Alien” vote? I believe you have to be a citizen in this country to vote, so who cares what they think! Just keep saying the word ILLEGAL! Most importantly, we all must remember what politicians are doing during this situation and vote them out of office when their re-election comes. They need to remember how their bread is being buttered and who is buttering it! We need to be pro-America, think of American citizens first….not “Illegal Aliens”!
Lastly, a pleasantly surprising occurrence came from this “Illegal Alien” march here in LA. Contrary to all the “Illegal Aliens” boasting how about the city would just fall to its knees without them working. All these” Illegal Aliens” were busy marching, thus not driving on our roads. Driving in LA is always an ordeal in itself, then you add in all these non-English speaking (I‘ve yet to see a street sign in Spanish), unlicensed, and uninsured drivers….fun fun fun! Yesterday turned out to be a commuters dream. Rush hour traffic with no traffic jams, major freeways that are always packed, you were able to drive at 70 miles per hour. The most shocking and relative result of our roadways, minus the “Illegal Aliens” on the roadways, was the fact that the number of motor vehicle accidents were at record lows.

If anyone needed any proof what was causing a good percentage of the driving problems here in LA, it was confirmed yesterday. All those unlicensed drivers are the ones causing problems! They should march everyday and stay off the roadways! Better yet all those here illegally need to be deported back to where they came from just as our law states should be done, if our laws were being followed with regard to those who are here illegally. The “proof was in the pudding” yesterday, all those “Illegal Aliens” really showed their true colors and the burdens that they are in the cities that they are invading! They proved to not be missed at all. I certainly did not miss the local Mexican market being closed…I do not shop there and would never shop there.

Why support immigration for thiry years and then close the border? Is it moral to employ people in a country where they are not allowed to vote and the employer controls whether or not they stay or is this a form of slavery?

What about the stated argument that most immigrants fill jobs Americans are not skilled to do or refuse to do? Probably a red-herring argument. I am not impressed with Chinese or Korean technology. After all the Chinese needed American telemetry data to get some of their satellites into orbit and American business executives broke national security laws to make it available. Korean stem cell researchers have published falsified data and spurious results in American research journals. Most immigrants are educated in American universities anyway, speak English poorly, and ultimately will decide to return to their country of origin. Why should we spend money educating them so they can build a nuclear weapon for Iran or Pakistan?
After working with pHD and a medical doctor from China in food research, I realized how little prepared for technical challenges these people really are. She purports to work in the field of genetics but does not know the HARDY-WEINBURG law which is basic and fundamental knowledge in the field. I am a technician without a degree in a scientific field; she is a medical doctor and a pHD..clearly this does not compute. When they say the Chinese are educating engineers and scientists, what they mean is they are educating very narrowly and technicaly competent people to work a specific job slot. They do not have a broad understanding of science and cannot function in a research capacity likely to produce new developments. China today produces technicians not engineers or scientists.
Since the motive for hiring foreign scientists and engineers are probably not their skills, we only conclude that they are made available as a way of keeping a lid on rising salaries in professional occupations. The illegals and contract workers have the same function. After riding a Greyhound bus, I found out that they run Mexican, Hispanic construction workers across the country from one jobsite to another and they bring their families with them. Most of these folks are illegals. I asked.

Bush claims that Guest Workers are willing to do the jobs American workers are not. If this is true, it is because the Guest Workers do not have to worry about social services and medical insurance.

Today's paper says Medicare will run out in 12 years. This is a right that I, as an American, worked and paid for with a lifetime of taxes. The illegals are draining this fund to the detriment of American citizens.

If we don't fight back, there are a lot of retires facing a future without medical resources. (Unless you happen to be an illegal - in that case, you can expect to live a long, healthy life).

Thank you L. Staton for saying what I was thinking.

If you want to live in the US, then do it legally.. WE should be more like the Netherlands. Make them take a test, and LEARN TO SPEAK ENGLISH!

I have two young children and my husband is in the military and let me tell you the pay is not all that. So to contribute I have looked for work, well unless I speak Spanish I do not qualify!! I should not have to learn another language to get a job in the USA. If they want to live here then they need to do it LEGALLY! There is a reason they are called illegal aliens, they are here ILLEGALLY!!! It is against the law for them to be here. If they want to be here then they need to follow the rules just like everyone has had to do. I do not live in Mexico, I should not have to learn Spanish just to get a job to help support my family. They need to learn ENGLISH!!! If I want to go to France then I darn well better bring my English to French dictionary with me because then I will be expected to speak the language of that country and that is the way that it should be! I am an American and I speak ENGLISH!!!

many of us citizens are not against immigration we are against illegal immigration.another amnesty
program will just continue the problem.the borders need to be secured first, the employers need to be heavily fined.my solution is to charge anyone who wants to come a 5,000 dollar fee they then would
be issued a temporary word visa in the form of an electronic card that would be tied into a computer based payroll recording device which would keep
track of their whereabouts and record their monies
earned, this card is valid for one year and any attempt to use after expired will be a flag in a computer system. after the first year the worker needs to return to his native country and is they choose to pay another 5,000 for another year after
that year they can be evaluated as to their value
to the USA and possibly citizenship application,
5,000 times the number of illegals..you do the math
remember many of these are already paying coyotes
for the dangerous passage. one more thing think
about vacations in the united states this year instead of givine money to a country like mexico
who has no respect for it's neighbors or apparently
it's citizens.

I live in Arizona where illegal immigration is a constant problem on the border. I feel that we are being invaded and I have sympathy for those living on the border having to live with thousands of people crossing their land. I have sympathy for those wanting a better life. What about the responsiblity of Mexico for their own citizens?

I am not in favor of militarizing the border, but how do we stop this? We are in Iraq with no solution, environmental problems (Katrina, global warming) a massive debt and the beginning of America becoming a third world country and no solution in sight. We have a government paid off by lobbyists and turning the other way. A huge population of immigrants who I feel will never obtain the education necessary to compete in a global world. Gardening and working in fast food does not translate into global competition.

I have read a few comments here stating that African Americans have held Civil Rights rallies and boycotts, have needed medical care without insurance, etc. too. Do not forget one big difference--they are LEGAL citizens of this country! Have been here for hundreds of years! As such they are entitled to hold rallies, recieve available services, and in general, get whatever is available to legal citizens of this country. They also serve in our army, and have died for this country.That is a big difference!

To: Luis Armando Rios Fonseca, Anchorage Ak

Trust me, Luis, the citizens and the LEGAL immigrants of the United States understand why you and the horde behind you have crossed our borders. We know you want a better life.

What we do not understand is why you think it was no big deal to come ILLEGALLY, and why you now think you have RIGHTS in a country which is not your own.

And trust me further when I tell you that insulting us will not further your cause. When you tell us that we are(and I quote) "too layz to get off ur fat ass and do it" you speak of what you do not know. Sure, we've let you do some of the jobs we really didn't want to do, but you were HERE and you wanted the work. Still, you ought not to kid yourself, Luis. We are, after all, the people who built the greatest nation on earth . . . and we didn't do it by sitting on our "fat ass."

And let's clear up that other point. The one about casting the first stone. This isn't about casting the first stone. You're a bit confused. To apply that statement U.S. citizens would have had to have crossed illegally into other countries in numbers equal to the invasion of this country. This is about people who have broken the laws set up by the government of the LEGAL U.S. Citizens. This is about protecting our way of life so that the United States will not become exactly like the country you left because you needed a better way of life.

And quite honestly, we're a generous people, Luis. We've opened our arms and helped many find a better way of life. We wish we could 'fix' the world. But we can't. Our resources, though they are many, are not limitless.

And one more point: Don't Try and Change The Star Spangled Banner into your language. It ain't yours!

But thanks for your input. Letters like yours are what we need. Letters like yours will add to the 70+% of we legal citizens who think you ought to go home and fix your own country rather than trashing ours!

L. Stanton

If U S citizens keep allowing illegal immigrants into the United States and keep giving them rights that they are not entitled to, it won't be long before the average "citizen" of this country won't even be able to read the Declarance of Independence and the U S Constitution let alone understand them. The casting aside of religion and basic laws that this country was founded upon seriously threaten the future of the United States. And if we don't act now to stop this rapid downward spiral, our children and grandchildren will be forced to flee this country in order to survive. And good luck to them finding a country like the United States that let's anyone in.

Now could we have a "Year without immigrants" please...

My day without Immigrants went well thank you. No traffic jams beautiful day. Didn't have to hear Spanish spoken. Sorry it is not a beauitful language. Its ENGLISH STUPID!!! Speak it learn it or go back to where you came from. Illegals should be caught and sent back to where they came from put on a list so they never can become citizens and enter the US again. I am for immigration the right and legal way (great great grandparents were immigrants.) Also employers should be fined. They sign the form stating they have seen these peoples papers they have committed fraud and should be punished.

I, too, and was angered by the bias coverage of your MSN/msnbc.com. Just like our government, many news stations don't have the guts to be honest about this ILLEGAL immigration fiasco.

In an article I just read on this website it stated that there were many American flags waving. That's funny because I sure saw a lot of Mexican flags waving as well, but surely MSN/msnbc.com wouldn't acknowlege that.

Your news station/website would better serve people if you drop the left-wing, bleeding-heart agenda and start honest reporting.

ENOUGH ALREADY! Yes, the boycott was news, but it wasn't all the news! You over-did it about 1000%

ILLEGAL in the English language is ILEGAL in Spanish. Both mean NOT LEGAL -- not sanctioned by Law and, in fact AGAINST the Law. Even though the requirements of Immigration regulations are very onerous, they MUST be met prior to becoming LEGAL residents and, later on, if that is the objective, US citizens. ALL, ALL aliens who are now US citizens have gone through the process. WHY SHOULD THE CURRENT ILLEGALS BE GRANTED STATUS THAT THEY ARE NOT LEGALLY QUALIFIED TO HAVE?

My mother came here from Germany in 1952. She learned English, became a citizen, embraced holidays that are celebrated here and not in Germany, gave me a most American/English name, went to work, and paid taxes. At her first job she met a German woman and they started conversing in German. The boss told them that it was rude to do so, and to stop. He was right. Can you imagine if that happened now??? No, now I have to press "1" for English; now I have to sort through product labeling to find the English text; now I have to try mightily to understand what a store clerk is trying to tell me. I resent it and it's WRONG. I try not to buy anything with other than English labeling, but it's getting harder and harder. All this does is pander to the ILLEGALS, and that's wrong. Why is it that if I commit a crime, I'm in trouble; if they commit a crime nothing happens? These people are illegal, have NO rights in this country, and need to be deported.

"Kind of off topic, but I think it's ridiculous that noone is reporting Stephen Colbert's speech at the White House Correspondents Dinner. That man should be given a medal and all the news networks are not reporting it to stay in the administration's good graces. "

amen tony,

colbert really needs to get more love

I completly agree with Kathy!

"just one prominent story"

what about iraq and afghanistan, like it or not that is a prominent story every night until there are significant troop reductions in both wars