[Caramelgal]

The “dropout American” is usually not very bright and not very motivated. Nevertheless, deport the illegals now. The slackers/welfare cases will then either start showing up for work and FINISHING THEIR JOBS or, more likely, LEGAL immigrants will take their place.

You make a very good point.

Too many native born Americans have a sense of entitlement. That goes for as many Whites as it does Blacks.

While I think that illegals are just that, people who are breaking our laws and need to be deported ASAP and prevented from coming back, you can’t say that many of them don’t work hard.

The problem is with employers who knowing hire illegals. But then again in some industries, like construction, landscaping and some manufacturing, employers find it hard to find legal workers, who are willing to come to work every day, get dirty and work hard for the wages and benefits the employers can afford to pay and still be competitive.

The answer is not just closing the boarders. We must end the social welfare system that encourages people not to work and lower taxes (i.e. government spending on welfare and social programs) on business and individuals.

[Clemenza]

I had the sense of “entitlement”, to a much lesser scale than others. Nevertheless, real life has a way of slapping you in the face and waking one up, IF they are paying attention. :-)

[YankeeReb]

The problem is with employers who knowing hire illegals. But then again in some industries, like construction, landscaping and some manufacturing, employers find it hard to find legal workers, who are willing to come to work every day, get dirty and work hard for the wages and benefits the employers can afford to pay and still be competitive.

You make a good point here, but for the sake of argument, let's say that we got control of the borders. Everyone would be playing on a level playing field, wages would rise and the quality of individuals would also rise.

I don't buy into the notion that we need Mexicans to "do the work Americans won't do." Not every Mexican is this super worker. If that were the case Mexico would be a major power. What the federal government has done is set up a situation where the best Mexican workers come here to compete with the bottom of American society. If you cut off the supply of cheap labor the work would still need to be done and it would get done, the difference being that you'd have to offer wages and benefits that enable people to live a middle class lifestyle.