This is just dumb because you don't distinguish between legal and illegal immigration. This is deliberate on your part and is really dishonest to do. We have laws and most people respect legal immigration but also want the laws obeyed and want jobs protected for citizens and legal immigrants. I will also say I want an end to H1B visas. We should train more of the people already here.

The *only* way a middle class ever rose up from the working poor is when labor has been artificially limited and employers are then forced to pay wages high enough to support a high standard of living.

We need a few employers who are employing the illegal immigrants perp-walked for everyone to see so the message is conveyed that jobs will be for legal immigrants and citizens only. That would help end the race to the bottom for wages and help end the destruction of the middle class.

Notice in Alternet how many commenters agree with you? It's about 10% or less. Get real and stop trying to blur the issues and stop trying to demonize those who are more respecting of the laws than you are. We can't be the employer of the world any more than we can be the policeman to the world.

But if you want lots of immigration then fine, I'm all for it. Just change the laws and then follow them and I'm happy as can be. Just don't flaunt the law to get your way, use the political process - and use free speech - honestly.

To respond to Chuck-

In your first paragraph you talk about laws and how people respect legal immigrants. Well if this is the case and your only issue is with the law- then how come whenever an immigration debate comes up people talk about crime. How Immigrants will bring in gangs, and rapists etc? If the only gribe is that they broke the law - then rapists wouldnt be a problem beucase many immmigrants do come legally - but I mean lets not forget- the 9/11 terrorists came here legally.

Illegal immigration exists becuase we need it to. Our immigration system is too overburdend and riddled with racism. Its easier for a person from a white family in europe to get into this country than a Latino from Latin America- even if they both are educated with professional degrees.

We also have a blanket "NO" policy against countries we dont like- such as Libya. For good or for worse this policy effects people who are even in countries that we are allied with - Israel being one of them- where people whose parents were born in Libya (but then subsquently expelled) can never even visit the United States.

The search for cheap labor will always be there. It has since the dawn of economics and the collapse of the fuedal system following the Black Plague. To assume that farmers will pay more for workers and then have the price of that fruit stay the same is nonsense. If we replaced all the immigrants and put americans in those jobs and paid them just $2 more an hour (about $5), untold millions of americans will be nearly bankrupt just trying to buy food.

Capitalism depends on cheap labor. Consumerism depends on cheap goods. The American economy is capitlaist (for the most part) and is based on consumer economics. Therefore the simple logic dictates- we need illegal immigration or at least we need to overhaul our current immigration system.

If not, then all we need to do is sit back and watch as the East Asian economies of Thailand, China, Korea, and Singapore will blossom. With this comes the chilling fact that the Dollar will no longer be the dominate currency. Oil and most major commodities will probbly be sold in Euros or another currency, which means the dollar will no longer be the reserve currency for most nations. This excess of dollars will cuase hyperinflation and complete breakdown of our economy (similar to Britian in the 1950s).

I think I chose to simply have immigration reform. Otherwise do they sell kosher food in Bejing?

The “legal vs. illegal” argument is the most common talking point used by conservatives and immigration restrictionists, and quite honestly is getting old. From talking points, let’s refocus this conversation to facts. Immigrants, documented and undocumented, contribute to our economy as workers and consumers. Everyone pays sales and property taxes, including the undocumented. In addition, most undocumented workers pay Social Security. According to the Social Security Administration, as of 2005, undocumented workers contributed $7 billion a year.

What is constantly missing from this debate is that labor demand and immigration flows are strongly interconnected. And our broken immigration system has led unscrupulous employers to take advantage of undocumented workers because they can’t uphold their rights. This labor dynamic only encourages low-wages, exploitation, and poor working conditions for all workers. To address the decline in working conditions and wages caused by immigrant exploitation, workplace laws should be enforced.