They are "illegal." There are legal methods of immigration. What do I think of the cowardly, self-serving politicians who have ignored this issue? Guess I just answered that, too.

Some people think they are heroic or something, but I do not. They are illegal and I don't quite understand why they have so many rights. I also find it highly insulting when people say that illegal immigrants do jobs that Americans aren't willing to do, as that is bull. There are no jobs that Americans aren't willing to do, just wages that Americans can't afford to work for, and which are ILLEGAL to pay someone anyway. I think the penalties for businesses who employ illegal immigrants should be MUCH stiffer. There are so many immigrants who came to the U.S. legally, and many of them took low-paying jobs and worked their butts off, and they did not do so in order that illegals could now benefit from the economic system - they did it so that their descendants could benefit. Now their descendants are getting shafted.

Get used to them... with the minimum wage law going up, there'll be lots more. Oh, you didn't realize that?

My answer is about illegal immigrants in the United States (where I am from): I think that what they have done is quite understandable. I cannot blame them for wanting to improve their lot in life. That is, after all, the American Dream, isn't it? I do think that people should not be allowed to skip line over the hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of other people who want to immigrate to the United States. We do have legal channels. I do understand, however, that the legal channels need to be reformed to meet the immigration needs of the United States.

I feel bad for those who are seeking to escape poverty and other serious circumstances.. however it is illegal and as U.S. citizens are punished for breaking law, so should they. It is a very complex issue.. not one that is white and black because there is a lot of red tape involved for some and not all (depending on where they are from and their status financially). I think the indigent really get the raw end of the deal in their quest for a better life. There are issues on both sides of the fence that make it hard for me to be overly outraged at illegals. Plus, there are a lot of things I am not knowledgeable about.. very complex issue - MOO

the issue with illegal immigrants is not their status (everybody agrees they are illegally in the country) but what's the impact they have in USA economy and society. You can buy a cheap tshirt in walmart becuase a kid in a poor country made it but you can't outsource house building (for example). Who's for deporting all illegal immigrants? who truly understands the real effect of such action? Now for those of you who only focuses in the "illegal" aspect of it, how many of the factories that build the goods that you buy so cheap you think are legal, and contract legal workers on legal circumstances? but that's not a problem since they are in other countries so let's keep buying from them. Many people go for blaming politicians, to blaming the church to blaming illegal immigrants to blaming the media to blaming whatever but very few really understand the deeply impact that all those factors have in the american way of life and what's going to happen to you if we eliminate those sources of "disruption". Sincerity, maturity and responsibility is needed and I don't see them around.

I think they need to become LEGAL. That goes for any illegal immigrant in any country.It makes me suspicious of why they can't enter a country legally. I get sick of hearing how they are taken advantage of,when all they have to do is enter legally and they will have the same rights as every other citizen.

I think they should immediately be sent back unless they come to our country legally. I wouldn't dream of moving to another country and reaping the benefits without becoming a citizen of that country.

Send them back home AFTER New Orleans is rebuilt.

The key word is "illegal". If people want to come to the United States, they need to fill out the papers first. We just need to make the process easier.

this is a real issue for us californians, especially since our state is proposing to allow so many benefits to illegals that are usually reserved for citizens. as a child of an immigrant family, i find it sickening that some people are given the same rights that other law-abiding immigrants had to fight hard for. some immigrants had to overcome atrocities such as rape and indentured slavery before even afforded the opportunity to cross the border, while others cross the border easily and take advantage of the healthcare and educational system of our country. if our governemnt offers any kind of amnesty in the near future it will be a unfortunate thing.

I think they run this country. They probably touched every item in your fridge and pantry because they are the pickers, the meatpackers, the cleaners of factories and so forth. Jobs that the big agribiz folks do not want to pay legal wages for. These immigrants risk life and limb daily to put that food on your table and food on theirs and yet they are scum to most of you. Beneath contempt. Save your rebukes for the big companies that send buses down to Mexico to pick these uninsured, low-wage workers up to do these sh*t jobs and then ship them or their bodies back when they are injured. Immigration policy in this country does not change because it would affect the bottom line of every food company out there. I would pay more for my produce if I knew the people who picked it were paid a living wage and were here legally.

They need to go back to Mexico.

I try not to because it pisses me off so much.

Honestly from an economic sense, illegal immigrants are a lot better for us than legal immigrants. Illegal immigrants work jobs for horrible pay which first off gives U.S. companies a higher profit which then secondly goes down to us consumers through cheaper pricing on goods. Illegal immigrants also can't take part in our welfare, social security, medicare, or any other government system which keeps our taxes lower. Legal immigrants may first start off taking our lower end jobs, but they will either start to take advantage of our college system and government system, or maybe the second generation will, and they will be able to become middle or even high class. In class terms, we want either lower class or higher class immigrants. It's the middle class that are affecting the majority of us. In my own personal opinion though, I understand the reasoning for illegal immigration. If I was stuck in harsh areas of the world, but was unable to legally become a citizen, I probably would try to get here or another strong nation by other means too.

I think they should be deported if they dont want to obey the laws of our country. We have to follow our laws. What if we flooded their country and decided what laws we thought were stupid over there? Oh yeah!!!... they do that over there themselves. My neighbors just became US citizens 5 yrs ago and I'm helping them learn english and they are helping me learn spanish. YAY for people who are interested in living here legally and are contributing in an honest way. Boo to people who live here illegally and say 'but we built your sidewalk so we have rights'

I don't except some say I should learn spanish. You would thing that german, shanghiese and russian plus latin would be good enough.

Many come from where there is no respect for the law, so they come here with that mentality and the crime rate rises higher.

Let EVERYONE in. Carte Blanche. Let's try to standardize English as the official language (I'm a little bugged by some of the places I go where everything is ONLY in Spanish, because I don't speak it).. were it German, no problem :) Nobody doesn't belong in America. It's a special country and everyone is an immigrant except for the Native Americans who live in what can only be described as 'fenced in areas'. If anyone hated fences, it'd be the Native Americans. Nobody has special rights here.

send them home!

Send them home and if possible make them pay the cost of deportation. They are illegal and why should we pay all their deportation costs. Come in legally or not at all.

I am Australian and we also have similar issues, but a very different type of refugee. Although it is against the law, I dont judge them. If I was in a dire situation where I wanted to leave someplace so bad to help and protect my family, that I would try anyway possible to do so. Only then I would be in a position to draw a conclusion. I cannot condemn anyone for wanting a better life. Sure there are avenues they can pursue legal entry but I dont know the situation of each individual. (My opinion only, no offense intended)

In southern california there's alot of ppl that don't even bother to discuss the illegal issue and i'm 1 of them.It's to far gone for the goverment to even think they have a chance of doing anything about it.It all has to do with trying to do something AFTER THE FACT.

I think they should go home, and then if they decide to,...come back when they're legal.

the only way to stop them is to find out what forces a person to leave everything behind and risk death to go to another place where they do not speak the language or understand the culture and are going to be employed at the lowest level of the new society. then, when you have solved that problem, you will no longer have illegal immigrants.

I don't necessarily think we should hunt them down, but when we find them, we should return them forthwith, and bill their government for the service. It may not be the foundation of our society, but a lot of effort is expended hunting down perpetrators of victimless, non-violent crime in this country, and then prosecuting it without mercy. Yet these criminals are permitted to walk among us, spreading God knows what diseases due to their lack of immunization, and law-abiding citizens take their part and even demand more for them. Shut off the driver's licenses, allow police to inquire as to their status when detained, and start doing the things that we would do to our own people without a moments thought.

I think they have a difficult position. It is incredibly difficult to obtain a green card even for a highly educated foreigner, let alone an unskilled yet highly motivated laborer. Or, they can cross a border risking their lives for a future that is dubious at best. there are countless examples of modern slavery (Such as in Immokalee or meat-packing plants out west) both sexual and otherwise. Then, once here OSHA regs are often not applied to them and while they are paid much better than back home they do work that no American (or not enough Americans anyway) would take that level of pay for, either because of danger and injury rate or due to intensity or strenuousness.. A perfect example of the later is a relative of mine for whom I have worked at odd times doing framing who despises "the mexicans" (which of course applies to anyone south of our border regardless of nationality) yet he even he says they can "have roofing" because he hates it so much. And of course what drives all of this is that we as Americans are greedy as hell for our products at the lowest possible price. this puts the producer in the uncomfortable position of trying to do whatever possible to undercut costs jsut to remain competitive in the market. It's a sad problem, with no clear solution. can you stop thousands and thousands of people with such desperate motivation that they'll risk rape, death and slavery? I think not.

I don't think about them.

I think they are like a cancer and slowly draining the breath out of america. Hospitals are closing because of forced free medical care. They are taking away ameican jobs from americans. They live 13 people to a house and sleep with the rats. They drink their beer and throw the cans and bottles anywhere. They are going to drain the social security system of benefits and never contribute a dime. Anyone smell the need for a criminal investigation of the government and its non-enforcement of the illegal immigration laws? Most illegal immigrants cannot speak or read english, causing traffic accidents, death and an overall increase in america's crime. I see this everyday and wonder why america is not taking a stand to defend itself.

Honestly, I do not blame them for wanting a better life, and to be free. However I do think that they should think about becoming actual citizens, or at least getting a green cards. In my opinion, everyone is a citizen of the world, however the key word is ILLEGAL. There are other smarter ways to get into America. I have a friend who's over here on his green card, and it doesn't expire for another 10 or so, when he goes back home, he'll be gone for a little while, and he'll be back within a year or 2 I believe. Well for the illegal immigrants out there, or others thinking about immigration, my advice to you is to go back home, and come into America legally on a green card, or Visa.

Illegal immigration where does it end? Until we go after the scores of it we will always have it. In a country of capitalistic greed and leaders that are in the stream of money be on there wildest dreams it not going to be easy. First you ask you’re self why people want to come to the United States. Work and a better way of life, some come to sale their Drugs. So if there was no work for undocumented workers and no drug supply chain and no government free services, I think you would start to see the flow going in the other direction. So who hires illegals and why, I will give one example of one industry. Meat Packing Plants, in 1980 an average worker made 18.00 per hour, had medical, vacations and were a pardonably white worker. Now the year is 2007 and the wage is 7.00 to 9.00 per hour and almost 100% Hispanic. Most on government heath assistance programs. You ask how I know this; I went to a packing plant with an interrupter and as people were leaving their shift to go home I paid 10 people 100.00 bill for an interview. No names or pictures so it wasn’t to hard to get people to take the hundred dollar bill. I ask all the people the same questions. Did you come to United States legally? Nine no’s and One yes. Do you have fake I.D.’s and immigration I.D.? Nine Yes and One no. How did you get this job, All answers came down to the company fill out the forms for me and I signed them. Are you and your family getting help in anyway from the U.S. government? Ten yes. Do your children go to school here? Ten yes. Have you been back to Mexico? Four Yes and Six no’s. If the people that answered yes I ask were you deported? Yes was their answers. How long did it take you To get back to your home here. Two days for two and three days for two. Do you have friends and other relatives here illegally? 10 yes. Do you think the U.S. will close the boarders and send you back to Mexico? 10 no’s. I feel the money was well spent. So I would say the biggest problem we face is business greed. And political leaders that are receiving money from business. Like I’m telling you something you don’t already know.

I feel that they should all be sent back to where they came from, and any children born to illegal immigrants should NOT be citizens of the United States. But if they are going to stay here then they need to all learn to speak ENGLISH which is the official language of the United States not SPANISH.

i think they should be legalised. why should anyone be denied the right to migrate. its a racist policy not to. although, and of course, it is all circumstantial as to whether they should be legalised for some obvious reasons.

Illegal aliens should be rounded up and deported. They should be made to buy their own ticket to wherever they cam from. If they have no money then they sit in jail until a family memeber sends them the money for a ticket. Included in this should be a fee for lodging and food they eat each day. While there forced labor would be in order.

It's a federal offense. I see it on the same level as any other federal crime. Why do people see it any different? We have an excepted system for regulating the borders.

I prefer calling them "people who have entered our country illegally". The point is that they are people first and should be treated as such (i.e. and not as things).

I think that we are hypocritical as a country. I mean, the American Indians didn't want us on their land, and yet we took over and turned everything into what you and I see today. I'm not saying these illegal immigrants will completely change everything. I just think that they're much like the founders of our country. Whether it's a job, a new chance, or an adventure, who are we to say no? Then again, I am pretty ignorant on the illegal immigration information. xD

*Disregard*

Saying send them back is pointless to me, since that's what the government has been trying. They are people, and I know a lot of illegal imigrants, people with personalities, some good some bad, and lot of them work hard, and even though they don't pay taxes, because they can't they still contribute, they buy stuff, helping the economy, they pay sales tax, so they do contribute money. I think the easiest way of solving the problem would be granting the illegal immigrants some type of work permit, so they can actually pay taxes, and the money raised could be used in many different ways, to solve whatever it is that people are afraid of when talking about illegal immigrants killing their country. By the way, lot of illegal immigrants are way better citizens, and contribute more, than a lot of freeloading Americans. And also America is build on immigrants, it is made of immigrants, you all are immigrants, if ur not and Indian, the variety of cultures is what makes america what it is, I mean the statue of liberty, Americas symbol, was made to welcome Immigrants.

They are a menace!

i think they help us in so many ways. they should be legalized.

1. Without them (particularly Mexicans) fruit and vegetable prices would be so high, few people could afford to eat healthy and the obesity crisis would get even worse. 2. I believe big corporations such as produce companies, hotel chains, the fast food industry and Wal-mart benefit from the use illegal immigrants too much for the government to do anything serious about it.

just, guys just get use to them . come on , i live in chicago, hey people complain bout them doing bad things trowing beer bottles not paying taxes or whatever, come dudes withe people do that too black people too, come on , they are not the problem, we are the problem our society wasnt ready for this change our racist mind dont let us accept, what is goin on now. they talk about this white kid that got killed because a drunk hispanic driver, hey why they dont talk bout all the people that has die because of white and blacks drivers, its ridiculos anyway, that fuckinn dude fro ofallon i bet he was drunk too , he was not in the place he should be at hey he was looking for bad stuff, what do you expect in a palce like that, fuck him i hope he is in hell. but anyaways like i said ,the problem its us. we are the same you better get use to it cause this country wont be under one race anymore come on guys lets just accept this, just look at chicago you dont see just white people here we all are different in some way , and if you dont lik eit well, thats too bad , bye

i think they are good people . the guy from ohio i bet his in hell he was drunk too , so no big deal

I feel sorry for a lot of them, especially since it is so difficult to become a citizen. But a lot of them work so hard. I don't have a problem with them until they try to come to American and take over. That's one thing I can't stand. Come over here and be humble.