Can't we at the very least "Kick-Out" those such as Hermant Megnath who cut the throat of a fellow Guyana Tuesday, in New York...Or say like the young Bosnian that shot and killed 5 innocent people in Salt Lake City a month or so ago..Surely immigrants such as these and their families have lost any rights in the US....? We have more than enough murder& torture going on among our very own...

jackie, people who work people in the fields 12 hours a day for 3 dollars an hour need to be put in jail! you have to stop employers from hiring illegals. their is a way to get guess workers now but companys have to pay more than 3 dollars an hour.
what kind of american dream can you have working 12 hours a day for 3 dollars. thirty six dollars a day, thats 5000 dallars a year if you work 6 days a week. takes your breath away doesn't it

jackie, people who work people in the fields 12 hours a day for 3 dollars an hour need to be put in jail! you have to stop employers from hiring illegals. their is a way to get guess workers now but companys have to pay more than 3 dollars an hour.
what kind of american dream can you have working 12 hours a day for 3 dollars. thirty six dollars a day, thats 5000 dallars a year if you work 6 days a week. takes your breath away doesn't it

The obvious answer is to make coming across the border less attractive to immigrants in the first place. Take away the incentives, they will go away on their own. This country needs to enforce the laws on the hiring of illegal aliens, and make it very painful to ignore them. Quit providing social services to them here, and quit letting them get drivers licenses. Mexico has a socialized medical system that will take care of them once they go back on their side of the border. And one more story about the raids tearing apart families, and I'll heave. There is nothing that says that an immigrant busted for being in this country illegally can't take his family with him.

“No matter what you think about how, or if, the laws should be reformed, it's clear Congress needs to engage in a serious debate and come up with a more effective policy.”

It’s hard to say what the real solution is. I certainly don’t think it’s realistic to think we can find and deport 15 million people. I wish such workers had more rights, had equal pay, and were not taken advantage of. All humans deserve better! As I so often argue, if we were more self-sufficient and made our own clothing and grew our own vegetables, we wouldn’t be so dependent on sweatshops and immigrants to do theses things for us to begin with. There are fundamental problems in the very fabric of our culture when we need and take advantage of such a slave-like labor force to do things we could easily do for ourselves with a little effort.

On the other hand, with the staggering growth of China and India, one can argue that we probably do need to increase our workforce if we are to be able to compete. Some type of immigration reform/amnesty is likely at some point and I support them both. My biggest fear is the criminal element coming in along with those who are just looking for a fair chance.

I have seen the apathy of the Federal Government, elected leaders who dismissed enforcement of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization laws for over three decades. Politicians have created the massive illegal alien problem in this nation. Every country in the world has immigration laws which are strictly enforced
including Mexico which does not tolerate illegal aliens or non-citizens working without authorization.
Mexico's laws are enforced by all law enforcement agencies. Our U.S. Codes present little fear for any person seeking illegal entry, workers, criminals, drug and human smugglers to terrorist factions while politicians including the President openly condone violations of 8 USC 1324, 1325 and 1326. Contrary to popular belief, along with masses of humanity entering
without documents, there are also criminal elements of society that are not stateside to work minimum wages.
John W. Slagle (ret) Special Agent, Anti-Smuggling
Unit, USBP

As a retired Border Patrol Agent, married to a one-time immigrant and with in laws still in Mexico, this subject is very personal for me. The attack on 9/11 changed forever the dynamics of the political/economic border, and as such, we must move beyond any rhetorical discussions and instead focus on the security of the country as a whole, and the border region specifically. The borders must be sealed against all entries at other than ports of entries, logically using force to meet force in self defense. Once that is accomplished, THEN changes in the laws can be developed and debated. In the meantime, every single illegal here who breaks any US law should be summarily deported and have to start over regardless of any equity. such as an American child. The mass disrespect of our laws shown by so many illegals is unacceptable, even if that is the acceptable standard of living within their own countries.

A line in the sand must be drawn somewhere. This is a very complex situation, so where do we start. I believe that we need a uniform policy on immigration to stop further people from coming undocumented across our boarders, yet on the other hand accept those whom are here. Life is pragmatic-life is a compromise. How are you physically going to send all those people back to Mexico-it would be like pushing water through a hole in the wall.

Very well stated, Ms Ellis. But I disagree with your conclusion -- "Congress ..... needs to come up with a more effective policy." Congress isn't capable of such a thing, and (more importantly) this is not a legal question, in my opinion. It's a social question. If the people coming from Mexico want to be a part of the American People, then we should welcome them. Generally, they are more like us than our official rulers are -- that is, most Mexican immigrants (legal or illegal) work hard, they have a sense of humor, they are generous, practical and believe in justice as much as in individual freedom. The economic exploitation of immigrants is another issue, altogether ..... and cannot be stopped by a "more effective policy," either. Congress, over the years, has steadily revoked all the legislation and presidential orders that allowed T. Roosevelt to control monopoly corporations. Strikes are what work, in that regard. But my point is, the American People will be around long after Dick Cheney has retired to Dubai, and the U.S. government has expired.

Rebema this situation was a need for America at one time. People came and worked seasonally as Americans got more rights to be education and live the American dream. My grandparents had friends who only come to work the fields then when home. America was built by people working in the fields. Now these people are many. The GOP has an idea that we can send immigrates out and Americans can do those jobs. Want to bet what Americans their talking about. As the rich get richer we are losing the middle class. The middle class was a building block to the American dream. Take that away and you have just the rich and poor. Ask any American if they would work for 3 dollars an hour for 12 hours a day and see how many employees come to apply. Two hundred year since the first white man stepped on this land that only Indians lived. So we're all immigrates and to build this great country slaves were stolen to do the work. Even the White House was built by slaves. So if the GOP succeeds in reducing the field workers all I can say is as an African American I'm not going backward my ancestors did my time in the field find someone else.