People should be allowed to immigrate to the US, but only if they do so legally. Amnesty should not be given to those who come here illegally. They should be sent back. Those who come here should be skilled at something and should learn to speak English enough to get by as well as they should all pay taxes.

I'm a problem solver. I don't assign goodness or badness, that's a waste of time. Here's my solution:

1. Dig a moat the length of the Mexican border (don't bother building a fence).

2. Send the dirt to New Orleans to raise the level of the levees.

3. As the ocean levels raise, due to global warming, the moat will fill up.

4. Befriend Southeast Asia and Northern Australia by taking all of their salt water crocodiles and putting them in the moat along the Mexican border. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saltwater_Crocodile

Any other problems you would like for me to solve today? ;)

The problems people usually have with illegal immigrants is that they collect social benefits, but don't pay taxes. Isn't the most logical argument then to give them all amnesty and citizenship?

I am removing all emotional and moral arguments from this and examining it from a purely economic standpoint. So who deserves what, and what is fair, is irrelevant.

Right now there are millions of illegal immigrants who are not paying taxes on their income and who are benefiting from taxes of citizens. Let's think of the possible remedies to this situation.

1) We deport all of them

2) We grant them all amnesty and citizenship

Clearly the first solution is impossible. We spend a lot of money on trying to prevent illegal immigrants from entering and trying to get rid of them and clearly the idea is fundamentally flawed. So if the enforcement plan doesn't work, the only other possible solution is amnesty.

It is perfectly fine, but I believe that the United States should return to having quotas as they did during WWII. This country is already overpopulated when you take a look at school, jobs, and the community, we dont need millions of people coming to our country to force us to expand into places that could contain very important natural resources.

I think Obama's plan is a good compromise on this issue. Crack down on illegal immigration while at the same time giving a fair path to citizenship for the illegals that are already here.

THe U.S. immigrantion is a joke.

The U.S. immigration tells me that the government is very very corrupt.

I mean come on, why let criminals come in? They clearly do not care for the country no more, yet posing as they do.

America is America because of immigrants, so bring 'em over! But follow the damn laws. It's not that hard.

Also, how come Australia has strict immigration laws? At least, I've heard that if you want to move there, you can't unless it's because of your job or for school or something...

I'll start by saying that law is a shitty thing... it's always either black or white and never considers a gray area.

1. Illegal immigrants can be good for cheap labor. So the illegals already here who do not apply for a green card can provide a necessary service.

2. No one should be obligated to speak English when coming hear. But, no one should be obligated to serve or help someone who they do not understand.

3. Borders should be enforced mainly because drug dealers and terrorists get through those borders as well. Also, we still have to enforce the law for basic reasons. It's easier to keep track of people when they're legal.

4. Any immigrant who commits a crime must first, serve their time and second, be deported.

5. Lets try to remember that as long as you're illegal, you're breaking the law. You should not expect any American rights except for a fair trial. You are not American. Just remember. And, if one comes here illegally, it should not be impossible to obtain a green card or citizenship.

6. Anyone who comes here legally should be treated fairly. And when they become citizens, should be considered full on Americans and nothing less.

6 basic, logical principles on immigration that should make things much easier.

I don't believe there should ever be a limit on the amount of immigrants applying to this country for citizenship. All should be welcome here so long as they abide by the laws of this country and do their best to fit into the mainstream of life here, which includes learning the language. Immigrants built this country and continue to do so as they join the labor forces here.

Immigrants are not our enemies...it's the way they are handled that is. The immigration process should also ensure that the person cannot be deported for anything but illegal activity while their applications are in good standing. The process also needs to be much shorter than it is today. As I've said on other debates about this subject, I know people who have waited 17-18 years for their citizenship to come through. ESL should be mandatory and enlisting your children into the school process should also be mandatory. Checking in every 3-4 months should also be mandatory lest we lose track of people while they move about.

If we were a more welcoming country perhaps we wouldn't have to deal with the high number of illegal immigrants we see on the news and read about in the newspapers!

Immigration laws are stupid. It takes years for people in foreign countries to get visas and citizenship legally, but it only takes an evening to get here illegally. Immigration laws need to be changed so that entering the U.S. legally is way more good-looking than coming illegally.

Being from FL a state that was founded by an immigrant... and being of parents that are Irish and Puerto Rican (a territory of the US) all my heritage is from IMMIGRANTS like 99.9% of all of us writing and arguing a point. I believe we need to device a plan that will allow illegal immigrants that have been here a certain lenght of time to follow a process to bring them into legal status so that they can pay taxes just like us that are so called Americans and putting a limitation by years on who they and when they can bring a family member over. I believe they are profitable to our ecomony and that without them, regradless on what politicians and news media would hype up people to believe, we would suffer a greater economic downfall.

Being from FL a state that was founded by an immigrant... and being of parents that are Irish and Puerto Rican (a territory of the US) all my heritage is from IMMIGRANTS like 99.9% of all of us writing and arguing a point. I believe we need to device a plan that will allow illegal immigrants that have been here a certain length of time to follow a process to bring them into legal status so that they can pay taxes just like us that are so called Americans and putting a limitation by years on who they and when they can bring a family member over. I believe they are profitable to our economy and that without them, regardless on what politicians and news media would hype up people to believe, we would suffer a greater economic downfall.

Illegal is illegal...how dare these people put their children through this! They are making us responsible for their problems and it's costing us a fortune to take care of these thousands of illegal immigrants. If their country is so dangerous, why don't we, instead of housing, feeding, clothing and medically treating them, use that money to send the military to their country and get rid of the dangers so they can live in their own country peacefully. We already have starving, homeless, hungry people in our country and need to take care of them. We already have many dangers here in our country, we don't need more and believe me, getting overrun with people will cause more and more trouble. Let's help these people return to their homes in their country without living in fear.

It is insane that the US government does such an unplanned, slipshod job of immigration.

US immigration policy needs to be based primarily on what is good for the citizens of the United States. That means that, among other things, the policy needs to be based on a clear idea of the optimal US population.

When I was in high school, the US was 164 million people, and environmentalists were pushing for zero population growth because of concerns about urban sprawl, environmental impact, preservation of natural spaces. At the same time other people were concerned about economic requirements, infrastructure adequacy, energy supply.

The US now has twice that population and there is still no target number.

Nobody has bothered to answer the question that should drive the policy.

My opinion about immigration is that it is irresponsible to continue to admit immigrants blindly and without any clear idea of what the nation needs, or the limits of what is good for all the people who are already here.

Immigration is completely fine, so long as said immigrants come to the United States legally. Amnesty shouldn't be given to people who come to my country illegally, because it's illegal. It's insane to me that criminals are humanized by people on both sides of the political spectrum. If illegals are caught at the border, just send them back. We don't need to bring them into the country.

With the exception of Native Americans perhaps, many if not most Americans are descendents of immigrants, slaves, or naturalized citizens. When one considers the Trail of Tears, the concept of Manifest Destiny, and early efforts toward westward expansion, we have to admit that European colonization (immigration?) was not always implemented in a favorable manner, and the earliest inhabitants of this country were not consistently treated honorably. Ironically, this country has been built on the backs of slaves, the disenfranchised, and immigrants. Despite the stains on our history, America's evolution as a country has been successful, in part, because the goal of our forefathers was to build a nation based on principles like freedom, equality, democracy, and the pursuit of happiness, etc. The blessings that we enjoy today AND our continued success requires that we, as the posterity of our forefathers, extend the same opportunities to the "tired, poor, huddled masses yearning to breathe free." Those of us who were lucky enough to be born here might want to remember that had we not been so lucky, we might have been born into circumstances that would force us to seek what America has to offer. Obviously, reform is needed, yet reform has to yield a process that is efficient, fair, equitable, and responsible. Currently, the road to citizenship-for those who seek citizenship-is often difficult. Economic problems, poverty, dealing with the bureaucracy's red tape and sheer desperation make immigration a complex issue. On top of that, America's recognition of her own misdeeds and her responsibility to model mercy to the rest of the world has justifiably created a reluctance to limit immigration.

I still believe that the phrase "In God we trust" blazoned across the penny should serve as a reminder that those fleeing persecution, oppression, and hope for a better life, often leave their countries hoping to arrive in a land whose people share that trust. Handling immigration is a complex issue, but the solution has to involve treating our fellow human beings in the same manner we would want extended to us if we were in dire straights.