Let's say I break into your house…?

Well said. If people want to be a US Citizen, they should do it LEGALLY like any other citizen. NO special treatment for people who think they can escape the rules. I wouldn't go to France illegally and try to get a job and demand they speak English and demand benefits.. so neither should people who illegally immigrate to the United States.

Zara... - great analogy

Russ... - you said "Immigration is the basis for our nation". How far back do you want to go man? We live in TODAY! Before they even had nations, we were humans. Listen, today this IS a nation and we should protect our borders for the safety of our people. I really dont think that mcdonalds rould raise the price of a burger if people who are here illegally were gone. You also raise the hatred issue. I totally disagree. They are LAUGHING at us today. If we close the border, I think the emotion that will be felt is spelled R E S P E C T !

Chain... - You're right, but they didn't and we took over. Get the point???

H - You said "the United States is a nation of immigrants". Sorry dude, I along with hundreds of millions are not immigrants. We were born right here and are the only ones to be automatically granted certain rights allowed by law. If you are not covered under our law, then you dont have the right to be here. You also stated that on 911 the terrorists came in on a 747. True. How the he!! do you think they are getting in here today? If you were UBL, how would you tell your guys to come in?

Folks, we better wake up, or one day we will be natives that chainreaction spoke of in a new country that was taken over.

first of all, thogh I disagree with you, you have formulated a well thought out, clear, objective argument. I appluaad you for the civil tone and the articulation.

My response will do the same!

Immigration is the basis for our nation. Our ancestors, though welcomed at first, quickly became the invaders. So, does it not make sense that we should learn from the mistakes of our ancestors?

Terrorism is a serious threat to America right now. There are three actors involved with terrorism: abject poverty, widespread ignorance and hatred/fanatacism.

Our neighors to the south already have the first two. If we simply build a wall to keep them out, is it likely to create hatred towards us? Think about the young man trying desperately to provide for a family, he decides to leave home and go to America to work, he gets to a wall with barbed wire and machine guns. Does he still love America?

Getting here is no cakewalk. A long walk through a hot desert (I live in Phoenix), low wages (no minimum for an illegal).

What we need, don't have a solid annswer. I think it should be far easier for them to get here legally, and far harder illegally. But to punish them is not solving the problem, because it is the people hiring them that attracts them.

Do you like cheap food? They are the reason our food is cheap.

Anyway, if you and I were in charge, I think we could find a way to compromise and make the problem a little better. Keep up the thoughtful analysis of topics and events. america needs people on both sides willing to do so.

OK so I see a lot of agree with you and so do I.

For those who disagree. You say we are a nation of immigrants..well i am a native american as my family came over from Europe long ago and i was born here but I have no problem with immigration. LEGAL immigrants like my family who waited their turn and followed the law are fine and I welcome them and will help them...but for ILLEGALS that argument is crap and there is no way to look at it in any other way that is just flat out wrong

Should we allow anyone who feels like it to just stroll on in and do whatever they want?...NO

Am I racist or a bad person for thinking this?..NO

So some guy is poor and we will make him feel bad if there is a wall..tough sh!t..life sucks get a helmet! Should I be free to just wander into any other country do whatever I want? NO NO NO NO NO

By that reason it is ok to kill people for money to feed family since I am poor, or it's ok to steal, ok to con people...there is a right way and a wrong way and if you choose wrong way then YOU SUCK final answer..no take backs.

Now the best argument I have ever heard saying illegals are good is cheap food...yes food prices would go up if we got rid of them. That might be good since we have a nation wide problem with obesity and food isn't gonna go from $5 to $25 per serving.

Rules are rules and they are there for a VERY VERY GOOD REASON...some dip could bring something into this country (no not nukes or anything but like weird melons) that could F up our ecology, bring disease (which they do they come here for free medical care..say hello to any bad contagious disease).

First of all, the comparison is invalid. The United States is a nation not a private residence. Second, the United States is a nation of immigrants, ask yourself, "How did the original immigrants get here--the ones who just took this nation for their own herding the Native Americans into reservation and breaking every treaty ever made with them." These same 'immigrants' later wrote 'their law' which made immigration here a legal issue.

The border issue is overblown. Illegals have been coming here for years, working to earn a few bucks (doing work Americans don't care to do for the wages paid) and returning home. Don't start with the social aid issue because you can't blame the illegal because own own government is too generous with the welfare. Change that when you go to vote but don't cry if it changes for all of us.

Terrorism is not the same as illegal immigration. Terrorists from 9-11 came in on a 747 with passports & visas and our government's blessing, aid and knowledge. Don't confuse the two problems.

Bottom line, the White, middle-class American Protestant is afraid of becoming the minority. If its gonna happen, its gonna happen. Deal with it. This is a nation of immigrants. Overhaul the immigration laws and allow immigrants here who are not trouble-makers to assimilate. It is what has made us great. Stop being so narrow-minded, this is not your private residence.

H

No terrorist sophisticated enough to do us any real harm will cross the most polluted river in N. America; he will come in on a 747 or cross the Candian border where a large Muslin community already exists and he will be less conspicious. Illegal immigrants from south of the border and terrorists have different agendas and their view are diameterically opposed. Lock a Mexican illegal and terrorist in the same room and they will kill each other. The illegal want to work and improve his life. The terrorist want to destroy even his own life to harm us. Think. These people are NOT our enemies. Stop with the hate mongering and open your eyes--this IS a nation of immigrants whether you were born here or not. Your forefathers came from somewhere else.

H

Congratulations!!! You have spoke for me and you don't even know me! Does that mean I must pay for your internet? Wow! I just watched a comedian on tv about two weeks ago, in his act he said, "Well, the US has just discovered that there are 3 million illegals in the country?" then he looked stupid and said "What the he.. happened at 1 million"? "Was that OK" WOOOAHHHH now it's three million we better do something". It's crazy! I live in South Texas. I'm only almost 300 miles from the Mexican border. When my daughter and I go to eat at mexican restaurants (it is our favorite) my daughter sometimes asks me if the help is legal. She has learned about this in school. She has even asked me about classmates who were born and raised here, so I have to try to tell her the difference, even though born and raised here doesn't mean that both parents are legal.

Here's a news flash for you from my part of the states. Our local news for the last two weeks has focused on the fact that over the last two weeks 4 (four) semi's full of illegals have been caught between Corpus Christi and Houston - on their way to Houston. How many havn't been caught the news is asking????

I'm a single mother. Myself and my daughter have no health insurance, my daughter has horrible allergies that have put her into pnemonia two times in the last three years. She needs braces very badly. I can't get any help! I guess I'm destined to keep paying for the illegals and can't even keep my own family healthy.

Did you REALLY want to get me started? Because I can go on with the people that are sucking up welfare. That's a whole different subject!

SHIP EM HOME AND BUILD A WALL.

What makes me ill is we can build a 22 foot tall concrete wall that can stop a tank almost around the green zone in Iraq yet we can't build a simple wall on our border.

This comes from the same government that finished the Panama Canal after 2 other countries failed and build the largest (at that time) water dam in the world, Hoover.

Yet again, something as simple as a wall is too hard. Why do a wall even....why not a water canal? Why not basic army block aid materials like barb wire and concrete obstacles? We can stop Germany from advancing in WWII but we can't stop Mexicans from running though?

My opinion...you employee, house or sell to an illegal....you should be charged with "aiding and abiding"

I think it sounds like what the white pilgrims did to the Native Americans when they illegally invaded this country. Only they took it a little further. They rounded them all up and forced them to walk the "Trail of Tears" (maybe you've heard of it?) which most of them did not survive and they dumped them in reservations where they still live today. The white settlers DEPORTED the Natives.

I think it sounds like WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND. Ouch! That kinda stings doesn't it?

God have mercy on us all!

wow what a fantatstic point of view and so true it is. my friend who owns a shop was letting his house out , he didnt recieve any rent whilst the 2 kosovans was staying there........ he went round to ask them why they havent paid any rent to him yet and to his astonishment he found they 2 guys had smuggled at least 30-40 illegal immigrants into his house and there was mattresses everywhere. turns out the kosovan guy who got the flat had illegal documents to work anyway. then when he did get accommodation he just made a phone call and voila put up 50 of his friends how easy is that?

The analogy was well done and to the point. To all of the answerer's who draw the comparison to our forefathers taking the land from the Indians thank you for unwittingly furthering the analogy. Yes, our European ancestors forcibly and bloodily took this land. They came under the guise of wanting to make a better life for themselves and their families but instead of integrating with the existing residents they instead chose to make it their own.

Any of this starting to make sense when you look at our current situation ?? It's only our land for as long as we're willing to defend it. If we want our children to enjoy the America that our fathers gave to us then America needs to wake up !!