So you don't want amnesty...what do you want?

First thing I would do is secure the borders. Then I would pass law that says " If you are found in this country anywhere from the border to the interior, being here without status, you will never under any circumstances granted any status of any kind. Then I would have 3 levels for punishment, first time, sign the waiver for no status as outline above, no jail time.

Second time 60 days jails time, Third time, 1 year jail time.

Then I would fine and jail employers that hired the illegals.

Anywhere from 1 year to 10, from 1,000 to 10,0000, per illegal . There would be no mast deportations, the illegals would self deport and the employer would hire people with status or be fined or jailed. If a illegal left on it's own, I would allow them to register, and then if there were a guest worker program I would let them be the rewarded by being the first in line.

The PLAN was put forth in 1986 !!! How many times do you want amnesty to be granted to Illegals ? This is the 3rd time since 1986 ?? When do you want it to stop ?? All 3 times Americans were promised that if we go along with this amnesty bill , this will be the last time ?? You got amnesty in 1986 for almost 2 million Illegals with the assurance that this would be the last time this would ever happen . The Bill in 86` promised the US citizens that not only would this end the Illegal problem , but also that " the border would be sealed permanently " , and that Congress would never again bring up an amnesty bill ? You got amnesty again in the late nineties , and now again , with a total of 20,000,000 ILLEGAL Aliens since the 1st promise of NO MORE in 1986 !! Close the damn border and enforce the LAW like we as Americans have to obey !! So I guess if you rob enough banks , and you don`t get caught , because there are so many bank robbers , you get a free pardon , and get to keep all the money you stole ?? I don`t have a problem using my tax money over the how ever many years it takes you to find the ILLGALS and ship them back !! It will damn sure be cheaper to do that , than to have them blood-suck our SS System dry like leeches with no contributions of their own !! Why are fruits and vegetables priced so high you can hardly afford to buy them if all this cheap ILLEGAL labor you talk about is so beneficial to our economy ?? 3 STRIKES , AND YOU`RE OUT !!! So if the US unemployment rate is at ( by your figures ) 6.1 million , why do we have 20,000,000 ILLEGALS on welfare ?? If we get rid of 6.1 million ILLEGALS , then you are saying the USA will have a 100 % employment rate & 0 % unemployment rate .. You have got to be on drugs !

I agree with the people who say enforce the laws we already have, making it less attractive to live here illegally.

I also agree that the first priority is to build the fence. If your bathtub overflows, do you mop up the water before you turn off the faucet?

But what I really want to address is the mentality of the question writer. Suppose 12 million U.S. citizens decided to commit the same crime - let's say, we don't pay our income taxes. Do you think we would get away with it because the average American doesn't know what the plan is to prosecute that many people guilty of the same crime? I'm sure the IRS would figure it out.

How would you keep the economy stable WITH the plan?

Robert Rector, senior fellow at The Heritage Foundation, has offered a few of the numbers:

** The retirement cost of giving American citizenship to 9 million people will be $2.5 trillion -- and they'll become part of the social security system at precisely the time when it will be strained already by the Baby Boomers.

** The typical immigrant household run by a high school drop-out -- with 60% of the immigrants being college drop outs -- receive an average of $30,000 per year in government benefits. The household pays in about $10,000 in taxes.

** The net cost to the taxpayer of an illegal alien who gets amnesty -- with "net cost" measured as benefits received minus taxes paid in -- is about $500,000.00 over the course of a lifetime.

Certainly, the national security aspect of the amnesty bill is the most disturbing. But it's bad news not just for our security, but also for taxpayers' pocketbooks.

Deport them. YES, it will take time, but it took time for them to get here also.

Go to where they are employed. If the employers can't produce CORRECT documentation on the people, then search deeper.

And NO, the illegal aliens DON'T deserve to defend themselves, They are NOT covered under our laws of the land.

Funny, all the raids, there were willing and able people to fill the jobs...Never heard about the jobs not being filled after them did you?

Also, make a bill which addresses state laws which PREVENT cops from asking documentation to be ILLEGAL. That way the cops could actually help out and do their job at protecting the USA citizens. Back them up.

Prevent them from utilizing our health care without documentation and do away with the 14 amendment.

EDIT, Daddy, NO, I do not see how respecting the KNOWN laws of the land about crossing the border is ANYTHING like Nazi Germany. The laws are there for a reason. It is to protect their citizens from diseases and illnesses, but also to protect the financial infrastructure and to make sure that the CITIZENS have jobs before illegal aliens do. If you think it is like the Nazi's why don't you go and visit Mexico and see how THEY treat the illegal aliens. This suggestion is not being snide, but to show that our laws are actually TOO soft on lawbreakers, and a comparison to the country south is VERY stark.

Mandatory prison sentence for knowingly hiring an undocumented worker. It wouldn't even have to be a real long sentence. Take a walking tour of the closest state penitentiary and you will see why.

People will pay more to keep from going to the state pen and the workers would leave on their own. Instead of amnesty allowing them to stay they could be offered amnesty which helps them go back. Only criminals and refugees would want to stay if there are no jobs for them. If they are legitimate refugees they would have to be exempt.

Next, speed up the legal immigrant process to meet the demands, but only after the need is identified.

This can be done very quickly. The void in IT workers was filled this way within only a few years. The only reason it took that long is they had to wait for foreign IT workers to get training first.

There would be not need to wait for training for the jobs on your list so they could be filled a lot faster with people who are waiting to become legal immigrants of this country.

Tomatoes and Cheap Labor should be required reading. I grew up in the Lynwood/South Gate area the author is describing. Our inner cities are the easiest places to hide. They also serve as a great information center for on how to access the system. All your neighbors and friends have a wealth of knowledge on how to get free everything. This current plan is no plan at all. It should have never came down to this. The 1986 Plan failed and so will this one.

Close the border NOW!!!

If an employer knowingly has an illegal on his payroll that is STEALING. He is making a profit and robbing honest taxpayers. Shut down that business.

Assimilate or get out.

Verify SSNs. The Social Security Administration needs to verify all numbers.

If you are in this country get out. It will be cheaper to identify and deport than it will be to pay these people benefits for the rest of their lives.

I wish I could pick and choose what laws I want to break. How about a full amnesty for anyone currently in prison for anything to do with marijuana. How about full amnesty, you fill in the blank, for problems we see have no solutions. These weak minded politicians are showing America their true colors. Potential votes from illegals are more important than honest voters.

Cut off all public assistance. If you're not a US citizen you GET NOTHING! They'll deport themselves when the free ride is over! We don't have to do a whole lot aside from this and deport those in our jails and prisons aleady.

If they're here illegally--but self supporting (ie no public assistance) and have no criminal record.....I say leave them alone. They're law abiding and not draining the system.

Doesn't anyone see the similarity to Nazi Germany? Why don't we catch as many in a day as possible, tattoo a number on their forearms and record it. Then we can put patches on their clothing, maybe a red or green star. Have cattle cars ready so they can be transported quickly and with minimal cost. Have all there cases be reviewed by appointed government officials, including the military. They can document their individual cases and told they will be reviewed, but, they will be transported to the country of their origin. If they have any American born children they will be gathered up and put into "educational camps". After 5 years every loyal American citizen will finally be able to sleep peacefully thru the night. Oh happy day! I can see it all now, the Statue of Liberty, with a spear in one hand and a shield in the other. "Achtun! Ve vill now Pledge allegiance to der flag!" ( so who said anything about the "Southern Border?" You mean there aren't anyone here illegally from, China, Ireland, India or any other parts of the globe. ? ) If you want to clean up the educational dept. run for the school board. Re draw the school districts and break down the numbers. Get the board to approve busing of the predominant racial group. Everyone knows the schools are constantly misusing funds. So as a teacher it's only the Hispanic students that boil your blood. I guess all the other students are angels.

You have some good points and I generally agree with you. My view is that if someone has been here for a number of years and has no criminal record then they should be eligible to apply for permanent residence. The key word is APPLY. Nothing is guaranteed. In addition they could never be a citizen if they had been here illegally. They can stay, get a green card, work legally, but if they every want to become a citizen they need to leave the country first then apply to reenter.

That would be incredibly easy- enforce the laws that are currently on the books, take away their options to thrive here- such as a job, housing, government aid, etc... they will go away on their own hopefully- and also deport the ones that we do find- now how could that be any simpler