Illegal Immigrants are at the base of almost every major problem in America.

I also want to take this moment to agree with a statement you made. You said: "I think that we have a moral obligation to create laws that encourage prosperity among immigrants. That way, they get what they want (work/good home) and we get what we want (labor). " I couldn't agree more, I think immigrants are the foundation of our country. But, ILLEGAL immigrants are the issue. The immigrants who come here legally have all my respect and praise. I want to outline a few points here. 1. Crime. We all know that crime is a serious issue. Our immigration system is set up so that we can filter out criminals that try to immigrate to America. Yet, we have 12 million illegal immigrants in our country. The fact of the matter is once they cross that border, they are in fact criminals. Since 9/11 42,000 people have been murdered by illegal immigrants. That is more than 10x the amount of American soldiers that have died in Iraq! The violent crime rate in cities and towns near the border are out of hand. One of the largest gangs in America, MS 13, is composed mainly of illegal immigrants. More than 25% of illegal immigrants have a criminal record! 2. Drugs. I work in a treatment center for kids with drug problems and such, so this hits hard for me. It is common knowledge that a majority of the drug trade comes from south America. How do you think it gets from there to here? I will tell you that our open border stance we have right now is a major reason drug abuse is on the rise. 3. Our Economy and health care. The Government puts aside 10 billion dollars a year for hospital write-offs and that still doesn't cover it. Illegal immigrants send 10 billion dollars a year back to Mexico. Not to mention the Welfare programs that are abused by illegals. I know that unemployment is at an all time low right now for adults, but teenagers are struggling to find work. Illegals supposedly take jobs that Americans want, like fast food and farming. That is a total lie. I grew up in a farming community and there were no illegals working on the farms, teenagers work the farms, and fast food, and all the "undesirable jobs". These are American young adults trying to find work but get denied based on greed supported by illegal immigration. 4. Immigration. This system we have put forth is long and detailed. There is a reason for it. It is to protect the citizens in America already. It is not perfect, but it is our law. Yet it is undermined by the illegals, they show no regard for our laws. I have spoken to many LEGAL immigrants and they are as frustrated as I am with the state of our immigration problem. It makes them targets for racial profiling and harassment. 5. National Security. This goes without saying. If a thousand people can cross the border in a week, what is to stop one guy with a dirty bomb? I am not saying I don't recognize that these are people who are from country with a corrupt government, poor health care, and a poor economy. That is terrible. But the flow of illegal immigrants we are seeing is having a negative impact on our economy, our health care, and lets face it, our government is already corrupt.