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We already have laws on the books that SHOULD have worked just fine, but no matter what law gets passed if it’s not enforced nothing will change...

As for solutions besides amnesty:

If we enforced the fines for employers of illegal aliens, and if we deported everyone that was caught without legal documentation (they are usually caught committing a crime anyway), and if we refused services to those who can’t prove they are here legally it would make it a lot harder for them to exist here.

I agree that landlords should not be allowed to rent housing to people without proper identification — it is a small thing for a landlord to require identification (it would protect them from those who skip out on rent and such anyway). Any landlord who is found knowingly renting to an illegal alien should be fined excessively (perhaps equal to the rent they obtained from their residents for the duration of their stay).

If you can’t find some type of income, or find a house to live in how can you stay? If they faced the hardships they SHOULD be facing there wouldn’t be as many coming here illegally.

Another law that should be passed is that illegal immigrants should not be allowed to use a Matricular ID card for any legal purposes (including ID for Western Union and such).

Also, banks, check cashing stores, and grocery stores should be fined or prohibited from processing paychecks for illegal aliens. Banks should also be fined for allowing ‘resident’ accounts for illegals. The money in these accounts should be seized if the person is an illegal alien (I guarantee no-one would use these services if it could be taken). No-one should be allowed to open a checking or savings account with a U.S. address if they do not have proper documentation proving that they are here legally. [If American citizens must provide a government issued Driver’s License or I.D., one other form of ID, and a fingerprint to cash a paycheck through their employers account how is it that illegal immigrants can open checking & savings accounts without any of these documents (i.e. at Bank of America, Wells Fargo, etc...)?

Another thing that would prevent the ID theft that is so prevalent among illegal immigrants would be if the government was mandated to notify the social security card holder if their number has been used. If we can track our credit report and inquiries made regarding our credit history, there is no reason why there shouldn’t be some sort of oversight that we have access to for our own Social Security numbers — especially now that it is commonly used as identification, contrary to what we were told when the system began.

As for deportation — I believe we should charge the employers of the illegal aliens with the costs for processing and deporting them. Eventually, we will be able to use the tax dollars saved by the decrease in expenditures for social services for these people to continue funding enforcement.

In regards to ‘anchor babies’ — this law needs to be removed from our books immediately. If your parents are not legal citizens of the United States then you must go through naturalization — even if you are born here. This ‘loophole’ has been used for years to justify amnesty for their parents.

As for those who have been born here already — I feel they should still be deported along with their legal guardians and then allowed to re-enter when they reach the age of maturity. As for those who say this is harsh on the children — their parents chose to take the risk of coming here illegally. Their parents are the ones who need to take responsibility. If they choose not to take their children back with them then they should be required to find a ‘sponsor’ or grant legal guardianship to a citizen to care for their child.

Also, any child who does not have proper immigration documents should not be allowed to step foot in a government school. If they attempt to enroll in a government or private school without documentation the school should be required by law to notify ICE and bar that child from attending classes. They should not be allowed to attend any school be it a pre-school or a university.

As far as convincing the officials in Washington... since when have they listened to their constituents? Doesn’t seem like they EVER do — at least not since I’ve been old enough to vote and participate in politics (which I was very active in when I lived in Colorado). No, they listen to the media, and polling organizations (never mind that most polls are skewed to the desired outcome depending on who is paying for said poll), and special interest groups which never think of the unintended consequences for the average citizens who are paying for their corporate welfare (i.e. Stop giving money to companies to finance their out-of-country expansions. That money alone would pay for the costs of enforcing immigration laws.)

I am all for easing LEGAL immigration rules and speeding up the process for the hundreds of thousands of educated people around the world who would like to come here to better their lives, but I am not in favor of rewarding illegal behavior — especially to the detriment of those who have followed the rules. IMHO, we should follow the rules like they have in Canada - a point system, with a requirement for cash on hand for living expenses for 6-12 months so new immigrants don’t require social services.

Also, I never meant to accuse you of being anti-American (although I do admit that I can see where you may have gotten that impression from what I said... and for that I am sorry). I’m honestly just so tired of people believing that we have to sacrifice our principles and beliefs instead of standing up for what we know is right. This ‘bi-partisan’ bill is exactly the reason why the major parties lose votes to 3rd parties, and why voter turnout is at an all-time low. The average American has lost faith in the system.

The politicians use the same scare tactics (warning about how much worse the other guy is) during every election hence, why we find ourselves needing to vote for the ‘lesser of two evils’ instead of being presented with a true statesmen. I agree with you that Hillary is a true threat to our country, but perhaps the American public needs to see just how bad the Democrats really are before they wake up and realize that they are really communists and socialists. As for the GOP... I’m a former libertarian, currently an independent who would very much like to find a political party that I can work within. I’m leaning towards the GOP, but it seems that Republicans aren’t standing up for the truth, the Constitution and our rights these days either... (i.e. Bush saying no WMD was found when there WAS, Bush and other Republicans not standing up to the Democrats, and calling Pelosi on her illegal foreign ‘diplomatic’ meetings).

I’m hoping someday to be able to say I am a Republican and be proud of it. I’m hoping Fred Thompson will run as well — I may not agree with him on all the issues, but at least the man can communicate ideas clearly and get people thinking about the REAL problems and solutions instead of being so dang ‘politically correct’ like it seems all of our politicians are these days.

BTW; I’m glad you shared that you are from Houston... There is no way to tell where you live from your user page, so I was unsure whether you had dealt with the problem. I find that in the places where illegal immigration is a very small problem most people have no clue about the real costs to a community...

I realize I haven’t addressed all the minutiae associated with the problems cause by illegal immigration, but the ideas I’ve offered are at least something to start with. I agree that it’s not enough to just complain...