The solution to illegal immigration requires enforcement of our current laws

"That is a huge oversimplification as far as government maintenance goes" Reply: No, it's as predictable as the law of physics. Whether it's public housing, public education, the DMV, social security, whatever, the government doesn't have the competitive pressures to maintain anything of quality. That's why government programs don't work. "Because people coming into this country unbeknownst to our government and in violation its laws have a huge potential to undermine the nation's sovereignty." Reply: The undermine our nations sovereignty...because they undermine our sovereignty? You're just talking in circles here. "They haven't acquired the common language and culture of America, and appreciation of America's legal traditions and constitutional principles." Reply: Neither have a large fraction of high school graduates. By the third generation of living in America, do you know what percentage of immigrants from Mexico and Latin America speak Spanish, even as a second language? Zero. It is the same tired argument that was used against the Irish or Italians. But what is more American than Tony Soprano? We absorb other people and both change for the good. "Not only will they be a permanent underclass for it, they will make this nation harder to govern." Reply: They go underground because we declare them illegal. It's not the immigration that needs to be fixed, but the laws that need to be changed so it is easy to become a citizen. "We are the United States of America for a reason; we are a melting pot. We are not the Divided States of America and not the Conformed States of America." Reply: Weren't you just talking about how we all need to conform to one culture and language. Aren't you the one who wants to build a fence between the U.S. and Mexico? "Secure from people who want to enter the country illegally" Reply: Then make it easier to attain citizenship and we won't have to worry about it. "They would still be subject to some taxation, and you have yet to address the fact that if they are paying taxes, they are committing fraud" Reply: What illegals commit fraud to pay taxes? If you are already illegal, why would you risk committing a crime and bringing attention to yourself, unless the benefit outweighed the cost. But it isn't even a benefit they are receiving; it is another cost! "First off, it's not a mass deportation policy. Second, no immigration law is going to be taken seriously if an illegal immigrant can receive government benefits when they're not even allowed to be here." Reply: So, you now want the illegals to stay here? Second, immigrants don't come here to be on welfare, they come here to work. "Lastly, money doesn't really matter to me on this issue, it was just that you brought it up" Reply: If they aren't hurting our economy, then what's the point of trying to keep them out? If they aren't a threat to us, what are people so afraid of? "Who's to say it has to be that way? We're bound to have technological advances where it can be instantly checked" Reply: Well....you. You were the one who wants proof of residency for access to things such as schools and drivers licenses. If by technological advancement you mean an ID card that moves us closer to an Orwellian society then I think it is you who don't have an understanding of our constitution and the principals this country was founded on. Papers please? "They aren't doing anything wrong? Wow. They're hiring people who aren't even allowed to be here, for sub-minimum wage pay, done under the table. That's criminal" Reply: What is going on is a voluntary transaction between adults. Minimum wage is the government telling you what the prices ought to be at gun point. That is the only thing criminal here. If you don't understand, I would be more than willing to start that debate. Even if the employer has a hunch that the latino looking person who speaks bad english is here illegally, he has no way to be sure, unless he actually crossed the boarder with him. And under the table doesn't matter because I can go offer to work under the table for less than minimum wage too. "By the way, this whole idea of "these are jobs no Americans will do" is an incomplete sentence. It's really "these are jobs no Americans will do for the pay an illegal immigrant will do it" Reply: The point being? That Americans are too good to do work for less than 5.75 an hour? It's not only that immigrants will work for less because they want a better a life, but they also do quality work too. "They don't enforce the law because they don't want to. The liberals don't want to for obvious reasons, and Bush (along with some other conservatives) doesn't want to because he's corrupted by the very people who benefit from the cheap labor" Reply: First, we all benefit from cheap labor--whether it is higher profits for your business, cheaper products you buy, or more people buying your product because they spent less on other products that were made more cheaply. Second, what are these obvious reasons? That the immigration laws we have now are a waste of time and money? You need to be more specific. "Millions of people have obeyed our immigration laws, played by the rules, waited in line, and done everything the government has asked of them to become Americans. The most demeaning thing the government can do to them is give them the message that they would have been better off coming illegally" Reply: And people have gone through the dessert, risked everything, just for a chance to be in America. The demeaning thing is to build a fence as a symbolic middle finger for their efforts to improve their lives. LASTLY "Secure the border, deport those we happen upon, punish the employers who knowingly hired them, streamline the legal immigration process, and maybe have a guest worker program" Reply: Waste of money, waste of money, wrong because businesses aren't supposed to be used for screening for criminals. Finally--and I can't stress this enough if you are reading this and voting on the debate--you included 'streamline the legal immigration process' and 'maybe have a guest worker program.' This would involve changing our current immigration laws, which the whole point of the argument was "The solution to illegal immigration requires enforcement of our current laws," therefore taking my position. Well done, good luck to you.