I'm not confusing the two - things must be different where I'm from but the vast majority of illegals I know are Irish and Asian.  I know some latin illegals, (mostly in SoCal) but in many cases - they date back at least 50 years.  It's the parents and grandparents of people I know.

So - see - my personal experiences are different.  I don't know for sure what the national statistics are, but you can see why I'm confused by the vitriol. 

I guess things are different where you guys live, perhaps?

Oh - Keith - I'll tell you how - they are snuck in in shipping containers - it's a terrible system.  There are busts all the time - crates of people are found being snuck in from boats.

Also, it's not always people sneaking in - the Irish don't sneak in - they come and never go home.

I'm 100% for deportation only because they broke the law to get here.

So by your statement do you think that any and all laws should be followed, without exception, and that conduct that violates those laws should be punished? Its a reasonable position if that is case and you are throughly consistent, but I don't think you can pick choose. Are you that consistent?

Obviously not all laws.  Some are absurd and never enforced.  This law is completely reasonable, IMO.  Everyone is welcome as long as they do it through legal channels the way our ancestors did on Ellis Island.

Now if the issue is they cannot financially afford to apply legally, that's another issue.  Those people I most definitely do not want entering the country.  If they are that bad off in a country where costs are significantly lower than in the US then they will be a burden on our tax dollars.

On the other hand, I would be happy if they changed it to allow conditional entry where they can be here WHILE they are applying but they agree that they will not get any free health care, no free schooling, no welfare, etc.  That is, they will be no burden on the system at all.  In that scenario it would be fine.  I would also want them to remove the "anchor" clause where if the child of two illegals is born in the US they become a citizen.  To me, a child should only be a citizen if one of the parents is either a citizen or a legal immigrant.

Scott - do you reject the idea that the current situation is not the same as the old Ellis (or Angel here on the west coast) Island days?  I think, if all the situations were the same, we wouldn't be having this problem.  

In other words - let me clarify my point - and this is my point, not Obama - he's hedging his bets and voting against immigrants.  The spineless wimp!  Anyway - my take is - while I agree that people should not be rewarded for breaking the law, I believe, in this case, the laws are unjust and need to be examined and reinstated.  I think we should contiue to have laws concerning immigration, I suppose I'm ok with the quotas (not really, but I'll concede that point) and I believe those here illegally should face some sort of, either payment, highter tax bracket, etc.  But having said that, I put the blame on the current situation on the current laws, not the immigrants.

I believe, by and large, that the majority of immigrants - of all nations - want to do the right thing, come here the right way, and become involved and ingrained in our society.  I believe changing and adapting the laws will help this process.  The current laws provide too many roadblocks and barriers, and since so many people are allowed to break the law (Because it benefits business), many take that path.

Besides - how do we know who is legal or not?  Can you tell?  Can you spot em?  Can you pick them out of a lineup?

I will go on record here and note that bigotry does play a role in this.  I stand firm in that belief.  Not pointing fingers here, but, like Savage, for instance?  That guy is a foul little bigot.

(Add mines and sharks to my moats/machine gun border defense proposal.)

Ha ha!! Very good proposal...!!

I have a pretty funny article from Nose Magazine that goes over the various ways to stop immigration and the pros and minuses of each way - it's pretty funny.

I'm heading to Indy Jones after work, so expect it posted late tonight.