I hear you Ryan. I have a problem with essentially rewarding those who have been here illegally by granting them legal status. One issue is that it is supposed to be a temporary "guest worker" program. WTF does that mean??? Is it expected that illegal aliens will step up to be documented as being illegal so they can get a temporary status? I doubt any of them would do that. What is expected to happen while they are on this "guest worker" status? Is it expected that they will somehow fit into an eligible catagory to then get permanent status? That's BS. What about those here legally on a visa or other work permit? How are they going to be addressed? Those are the people who would fall through the cracks. That is ironic considering they have followed the rules and came here legally and could be left out in the cold. As it is said, no good deed goes unpunished.

Having said that though, I live in an area very, very heavily populated with illegals. I understand the contribution they make and that if every illegal immigrant were bounced from the country we wouldn't have many of the foods on our tables and services performed. A big part of me just says "I don't care if you're illegal, just don't commit any crimes". That is hugely frustrating to me. There are many hard working and otherwise law abiding illegal immigrants but there are just as many who commit crimes. Believe me, I speak from experience here.

Perhaps as pressing as the guest worker visa issue is the issue that came up earlier regarding the offspring of illegals getting automatic citizenship. A friend of mine recently had a baby at a hospital known for its illegals and uninsured. He was a rare paying customer. They told him that they have over 300 births a month there, most of which are from undocumented and illegal mothers/parents. It is known that some illegal immigrants will go there when they are due and wait in the parking lot until it's time.

This issue has to be resolved fairly and unfortunately bloody politics creep in and some choose to make it a race issue. Have you heard about certain city governments declaring themselves as sanctuaries? That is friggin' ridiculous! We can't ignore the realities of our economy yet protect the integrity of the immigration process and the very real strains it puts on our social services.

I think I can speak from experience because I am a relatively recent immigrant who has had my fair share of bad run ins with INS/CBP/ICE. I understand how F'd up the immigration process can be yet I have dealt with it and followed the rules. I also don't commit crimes, other than the odd vehicle code violation, and I pay my taxes.

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