They do a lot of work such as fruit picking, cleaning etc. that Americans simply don't want to do. If there were not immigrants (legal or illegal), a lot of farms would have to close because they couldn't get the fruit picked at a price people would pay for the fruit. Hotel and restaurant charges would have to rise because cleaners would get a lot more expensive.

They do jobs that other people don't want to do at a fraction of the wages. One really enlightening fact that I got from a documentary called Wetback. Is that immigrants with fake social security cards pay an estimated $15 million in social security to the government that they can never collect and that was just the stats for South American immigrants.

they do all the jobs americans don't want to do because they're lazy and want to get payed enough immigrants dont get the respect they deserve

I think they take the place once filled by the slaves, sadly.

They give the police something to do to get paid for. They send their US money back to Mexico, and beat the system, thus ridding us of all the cocaine tainted paper bills. They draw funny porno pictures on porta-jon walls at construction sites. They show people it IS possible to live 20 people in a 2 bedroom home. They always know where to find drugs. They are capable of showing contractors how to bid on jobs at record low rates. They buy all the crap car accessories that no one else will buy for their car. They prove you don't need a license or insurance to drive a car. They will provide a new home: for any tool you accidentally leave at a job. They bless us: with a holiday or three in which you can almost go a complete day without seeing one. They are fruitful: and multiply, to replenish tomorrows worker stock. They even give hope: to drug dealers and criminals by showing them that the police really ARE outnumbered. They also do more!

Some good answers already there. In addition, it might be worth considering that effectively every single modern American is descended from colonists who won the country's land from the original owners using violence and deception. The only time U.S. troops intentionally fired on the Stars and Stripes came when a tribe who had made peace with the government was massacred. They flew the flag to indicate their peaceful intentions, but were gunned down just the same. Black Americans' ancestors were captured, forcibly brought across the ocean, bought and sold like animals, and mistreated for centuries. Next to that history, a few people sneaking into the country to pick fruit or clean rich people's toilets to feed their families doesn't seem so bad to me.

They gives us one more thing to complain about..... But they may be creating a new generation of lawmaking that may benifit this country in the long run.

they do a lot of jobs that americans aren't willing to do or would prefer not to do ... i'm fairly certainly my house was built entirely by illegal immigrants and they did a great job

Not helpful to all of the US but certainly an incredible boon to big corporations who pay them next to nothing through layers of contractors and don't have to insure them or treat them like human beings. Large buses pass back and forth over the borders with a nod and a wink on their way to the picking fields of my state, California and when a worker is injured they are shipped straight back home. Many die from their injuries in hazardous jobs in packing plants and from pesticides. Their lives are cheap and short and yet the huge comapanies that use them like toilet paper are never held to account for it and continue to line the pockets of sympathetic politicians like our dear George Bush. Big business likes the status quo and that's why this area never sees real reform. Some interesting fences will be built but they won't stop the flow of buses. Only consumers can by voting with their dollars. The supermarket is a voting booth. Use your power there if you don't like illegal labor in the US. Thes people deserve to be treated like people. Give them work visas and basic rights. Time for the US to stop whining about it and point the finger at the real culprits. Big business. Especially big agri-business.

I think it is as simple as the government needs all the taxpayers it can get because they already squeezed the current residents until they are all dried up.

You might ask the legal americans, standing in the unemployment lines, this question.

to our food industry

Some are hard workers if there were no illegals who would be out there in the blistering cold and heat putting up houses and buildings? There would be no meat markets or taco stands! They do jobs that most americans get lazy about, but dont get me wrong there are hard working americans too!

They do help the U.S. economy. However, they pose a great health risk.

Some feel that illegals help the united states by one doing jobs others wont do? Yes that is correct they do but only for a little while, they sone realize they can make more money competeing for other jobs that pay higher wages. So there needs to be a constant flow of immigrants who are willing to do jobs that others wont do because those jobs pay so poorly. I use to work for a construction company that did exactly that. They pay supper low wages and fatten thier wallets. These lower cost are rarely ever passed on to the consumer..They may some day if they ristrict the flow of illegal immigration, then the demand for labor will raise the wages for these low paying jobs. Many assume "perfect world" economic models that in vacume assume that benefits are passed onto the consumers. I have seen the finacials and seen that in short run business men trade "entrance into this country" to individuals who are willing to "work for less". It is the governments job to regulate immigration not business. Illegal immigrants and greedy businessmen win out while the middle class foots the bill.