[Habble Gabble]

Whats up any way with Mexico? How come things are so crappy there a guy want s to put his life in danger to cross the border and only end up with a job washing dishes in some hot kitchen for like 2 bucks per hour and sleep in an ally? I wouldn't do it.

[Walkingfeather]

Mexico does this and I suspect the US allows it for this reason.

Mexico uses illegal immigration as a pressure release valve to bleed off poor male workers from their society. Without it there would be a revolution in mexico, and a revolution on our border. That is why I suspect the US allows this to go on.

[reformedliberal]

The Mexican peso is officially worth less than a US dime. A dishwasher gets meals. If he can also sleep for free, that is just more money to send back to Mexico. Repatriated US earnings are a huge portion of Mexico's GDP. Immigration also gets rid of those who would join a revolution. Win-win for the Mexican elites.

I don't know what I would do if I were a Mexican peasant. Two of my grandparents came here legally 100 years ago, as teenagers in steerage from Russia. The other two took two babies (Grandma was also pregnant) in steerage from Riga to Argentina. They were in their 20s. They lived and worked there for 9 years until they could get sponsorship and a job here, which allowed them to immigrate legally to the US. They didn't talk much about "the old country" or about Argentina, except to say "It is better here". Hard times seems to be a motivating factor to immigrate even in the 21st century.