LOL. Do you really think these laws are being enforced? There have been hundreds of such cases alone in FL where green card holders voted. Nothing happened to them. Obama granted a backdoor amnesty to the so-called Dreamers up to age 30. So far 560,000 have been granted DACA status, given work permits, and SSNs. Some states are giving them drivers licenses and in-state tuition. The approval rate is 99.5% for those applying. And guess what, the federal government has said that it will not go after the illegal parents of DACA applicants thereby expanding the pool of those being given de facto amnesty.
Obtaining citizenship is not just a matter of living here for 5 years, I know people who have been legal residents more than 20 years and are not yet citizens. One has to learn the English language, maintain a clean criminal record, and study U.S. History to be able to pass the test, something not everyone can or is willing to do. I have helped someone close to me study for the citizenship exam, and can say that most Americans wouldn't be able to pass.
There are approximately 15 million green card holders at any one time. Except for voting, they have all the rights and privileges of a citizen. And their American born children are automatically citizens thru birthright citizenship.
We are still a nation of laws, and most of us, including those here legally, are trying to follow it. The solution for those who have already come illegally is simple. Deport them all, and deliver the message that the U.S. has a zero-tolerance policy toward those who break our current laws by coming here illegally.
No, I would not say the solution is "deport them all." It is a trap that the other side will spring on you by saying it is impossible to round them all up and deport them.
The proponents of amnesty are wont to create the false choice between a blanket amnesty and mass deportation of 12 to 20 million illegal aliens. In reality, we have other choices and alternatives that don’t reward people who have broken our laws with the right to stay and work here and an eventual path to citizenship. The 12 to 20 million illegal aliens did not enter this country overnight and they will not leave overnight. Attrition through enforcement works. We have empirical data from Georgia, Oklahoma, Alabama, and Arizona proving that it does.
Sorry, I should have qualified that, by "all", I was referring to the illegal children who have been invading our border over the last year or so, not the 12 to 20 million who were already here, that's another issue. I know some of them, and it's quite a mess with children who are citizens by birth and so forth.
Do you really think these laws are being enforced?
The laws are being enforced, here in Georgia at least, because the citizens demand it. This post was about child refugees, not voting-aged residents.