So I went on a rampage a month or so ago below about illegal immigration.  I mainly just bitched about the topic without offering any solutions, but after a lot of reading on the issue - from both sides of the fence, I think I'm ready to offer my humble opinion on the solution to this problem.  It may be just common sense or crazy fanatacism, so take it as you wish.

My Solution to the Illegal Immigration Crisis in the United States of America

Um...why don't we just enforce the laws we already have?  This might be a ridiculously crazy idea, but it might just work.  It boils down to 3 things:

• Border Protection: Why can't we just protect our borders with increased 1) funding, 2) use of technology to detect drug/weapon traffickers and illegal aliens, and [if we really need it] 3) some sort of fence to impair the travel between the remote and urban areas of the border.
• Labor Enforcement: Why can't we punish employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants?  Think about it.  Why do millions of people risk their lives to break the laws of this nation?  Answer: to work!  If employers are forced to hire American citizens instead of illegal immigrants and punished if they don't, the illegal immigrants won't have a place to work and therefore will have very little reason to risk the illegal and dangerous journey.  A non-partisan study (sorry I don't have the link) I read recently found that the large majority of illegal immigrants would actually "self deport" themselves if they could not find work.  Believe what you want, but it makes sense to me.  Many illegal immigrants left their entire families to make an extra buck over here, so if the source of income dissappears so too does the worker.
  
• Recognition of a Crime: I've seen countless news reports showing police and federal officials knowingly ignoring or just not concerning themselves with illegal immigrants.  I understand that "terrorism" is more important, but the fact is illegal immigration is a crime according to the US government (hence the adjective "illegal"), and I don't recall anyone being excused of parking in a fire zone or underage drinking or trespassing on private property or stealing clothes or etc etc.  Illegal immigrants should not be treated like murderers, but they should also not be treated like law abiding citizens.  If an officer of the law knows a person is an illegal immigrant, they should be deported and given the number to the Immigration Office so that they can find out how enter the country legally and gain citizenship. (more on that below)
  

The three things above are pretty much common sense in my book.  We don't need new laws and the cost of the above is A LOT less than blanket amnesty, a "guest worker program", or just flat out deportation of everyone.  The three things above are also not the entire solution to this complicated topic, but it's an easy start.

There are a lot of other issues behind illegal immigration and they cannot all be solved with the snap of a finger or the signing of a paper.  But we can make a very big impact on the crisis in the US by just enforcing and funding our existing laws.  I think some major studies should be conducted to find out if we actually need this extra labor in industries like agriculture and construction as they claim.  And if it turns out we do, then it's the government's responsibility to allow for an increase in legal immigration from nations with willing workers (like Mexico and South American nations).  I do think that we need to re-evaluate our immigration policy towards Central and South American nations.  I have read that it is practically impossible to gain citizenship to the US from those nations and that isn't right.  Anyone around the world should have similar, if not the same opportunity to "live the American dream".

I also think that it would be in the US's interest to focus and aid the economies of [North/Central/South] American nations.  Not only would this decrease the demand for illegal immigration into the US, it also might calm some anti-US sentiment in the region and create some very valuable trading partners close to home.  It isn't our responsibility to take care of other nation's citizens, but I think it is our responsibility to promote stable and responsible economies and governments in our neighborhood.

This is all a very long and gradual process but we can make an immediate impact on illegal immigration by just simply enforcing our existing laws.


So there you go.  That's my two cents on the subject.  Oh and I read some polls showing that the recent pro-illegal immigration rallies (or what they call "pro-immigration" rallies) are turning the [slight] majority of citizens against the protester's purpose.  So maybe illegal immigrants and their supporters should rethink their tactics.

And my final statement on the topic:

THIS IS NOT ABOUT IMMIGRANTS.  THIS IS ABOUT ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION. 
So stop throwing around "We were all immigrants once" to support your cause.