Originally Posted by PornMD

The situation is what it is - no sense in speculating whether most people would be viewing it the same way if Canadian or other countries' illegals were causing the issues here that Mexican illegals have been, because right now they aren't.

It's not JUST the job situation or the tax burden, but the criminal activity as well. My grandma now lives in a gated community, but used to live in her own house in Chula Vista (south SD county) and had illegal immigrants stealing stuff from her backyard and even sometimes trying to stay in her backyard. She's literally lived there since it was a rural area, but city has built up around her and over time the illegal immigration got worse and worse to the point where she needed a gate around her house, and even then eventually did need to move to a gated community for further protection. It's impossible to know what it's like being near the border here unless you are.

I realize it's also hard to understand what life is like for the illegals too, and I feel bad for the fact that many of them really have no choice but to try and get by here illegally. However, there are BILLIONS of people around the world that need help, and the US can't carry that entire burden and help EVERYONE even though we're expected to. That unfortunately is a fact of life - a lot of people in this world are in very tough circumstances mostly out of their own control and there's not a whole lot that can be done without putting other people in tough circumstances.

If Mexico wasn't rapidly deteriorating, there wouldn't be as big of an illegal immigration issue. However, the US already has enough people that are getting poorer and poorer to continue getting an increasing influx of more of them to take care of, people that did not go through the legal process of being here like others did. Sooner or later we have to show the people that were born here and of course the people that came here legally that they are a priority - as it is I wouldn't be surprised if border states like CA and AZ ultimately spend more money on illegal immigrants than they do on legal immigrants. If there were an easy way to do it, then I'd be against measures like the AZ law, but I just don't think there is, and I don't think the AZ law is as dangerous as some of you believe it is.

Heck, I just learned recently from an article that the self-employed are a bigger target for IRS audits than large corporations (which likely have a LOT more to hide) and wouldn't be surprised if I ever get audited given that, but rather than get pissy that I'm being targeted simply because I fall into a particular group, I'll willfully go along with it because I do my taxes correctly, know full well that they'd see that and be on their way afterwards, and that I have enough benefits of living here that I'm willing to put up with it.