I agree that these people that break the law, for whatever reason they choose to try and justify, are still breaking the law. These people are not only breaking our immigration laws but most are also guilty of identity theft when the use someone elses SS# to get work. I think we need some form of guest worker program. However, I think the guest workers should be microchipped or wear a ankle monitoring device so when their work term expires they can easily be located and be made to leave the country. We also need to negate anchor babies as they are a complete drain on our public services.  

Microchips!  I can tell you're a real advocate of freedom and civil liberties. 

Just think if slave owners had had access to that kind of technology back in the day.  Would have put an end to that pesky Underground Railroad.

And thanks for reminding me about Gary's uninsightful and vituperative comment so I can delete it.

microchips!!! what in the world we microchiped our dogs!! so if they were lost we could get them back. Please be real here people these are human beings not animals.

MICROCHIPS!!  Wow, now that just blows my mind.  I don't think I have ever heard of a more ridiculous or inhuman idea in all of my life.  Ugh, I am so disgusted.. I have nothing more to say.  What a complete IDIOT!

Please support the effort to get the Obama administration to work towards the opening of our Southern Border.  It is time for us to develop a civil relationship with our Central American brothers and sisters, beginning by working on economic equality.  Eventually we can take down the walls that separate us and live like real neighbors. See http://www.change.org/ideas/view/open_the_southern_border
Thanks for supporting a rational and humane immigration policy.

   Now, now. Lets set asside the emotion and fix this problem. All, legal, illegal, asylum seeking immigrants come to America for a better life. How it's provided to them, is where Americans seem to have the problem.  It's time to stop blaming these people. Lets blame the reason they came hear in the first place. The communist, or politcally corrupt countries they choose to flee. Try this on for size...........In reality, no one once to leave their family, home and friends; come to a strange land and start over with nothing. In reality, Americans don't want to support these people. Although, Americans will support the reason they've chose to come here. ????? This is the catch-22 we run in circles around. So, without invading these countries, demanding democracy, or violating any law that governs them; How should we fix this?........We beat them at their own game! For every immigrant fleeing these countries for what ever reason; we charge a huge fine to that country. (Of course, keep the immigant here to protect them.) Yes, I'm aware most of these countries are third-world or close to it. We all know this money will never be seen. But, we can bank-rupt the rich, corrupt at the top. And what happens when they can't pay their millitarys, or gorillas to protect them? What? Communism falls! Look, I know its not going to suit everyone in every sittuation. Freedom has always had a price, which usually, is payed with innocent human lives. But, look at it this way. If North Korea, invaded the U.S. today,(no doubt, they have a military super power.) Would you not give up your life to ensure your children the freedoms that have granted to you?

Didn't Free Trade have something to do with people having to come here?  I don't know much about this, but have heard that we are dumping corn (for example) onto  countries that always raised it themselves, at prices lower than they can charge, which is causing problems for their farmers making enough money to live.  I'm under the impression that the US's trade policy has a direct correlation to people having to leave their countries to make a living elsewhere.

In the long run, it would be far cheaper to do what France has tried doing with its waves of illegal Muslim immigrants. France has deported them with a relatively large sum of money -- $10,000 U.S., I believe -- with the provision that, if they ever return to France and get caught, they really will go to prison for a long, long time.

Think of it as like a "loss leader" in the retail business. :>) It really is like a "get lost" contract. But it makes a whole lot of sense.

Now, in those basket-case Muslim countries from which people are illegally immigrating to France, or in our case, in Mexico and Central America, etc., where our illegals are coming from, $10,000 is a fortune.

So these deported people go back where they came from and they are set up to go into business and help their home country's economy and so forth.

Meanwhile, $10,000 is a drop in the bucket compared to the $100,000+ that American taxpayers have to pay to educate the child of an illegal alien in our schools, K-12 (13 years x at least $8,000 per year), PLUS the free maternity care in our hospitals that we somehow are forced to give them, free health care, the drain on our law enforcement and corrections systems, etc. etc.

For $10,000 we could be RID of all those unwanted and unproductive expenses and get RID of some of these bad apples.
 
You have to spend money to make money or in this case, save money. I'd be for it -- as long as enforcement of that prison term if they violate the contract is guaranteed and carried out.

America need more immigration not less. The problem must be that entry into the USA is too low and too difficult. Most people who come are certainly hoping to live the American dream and make their lives and the lives of their families better.

If employers did not require the labour they provide the would nopt come in such number, the fact that they do show only that the jobs and opportunitie do exist and the need for them is only going to grow and more will come.

Make the immigration process more workable and more effective and you will eliminate the illegal immigration that is controlled by the criminals and the good, decent people who want to come to America will be able to live their dream without being made into criminals.

Making it easier for the people America need to get in will make it harder for those they don't want to get in.

Alternatively, vote in favour of the NAU and make them citizens with rights of free movement as we have done here in Europe.

There is so much emotion surrounding this issue that I think it is time to start considering that there are other things to think about than just the individual stories we all hear about it.  A recent population forecast from an institute at Virginia Tech says that by 2100 or so, we could have more than a billion people in the U.S.; the majority of that increase will come from immigration, considering not only the numbers of immigrants themselves, legal and illegal, also but their higher birthrates.  We will probably have around 450 million people by 2050, which is not that far away.  I don't think it is in any way unreasonable to consider the effects on the environment, including land use, water and air pollution, resources, and even the stress on social institutions such as schools and the entire welfare system.  Until the last 15 years or so, I have always been in favor of immigration, but now it resembles colonization more than traditional immigration, because of the sheer numbers involved that we aren't able to assimilate properly.  My wife is an immigrant, and she doesn't disagree with me that we have to consider what the country is going to be like with a population equivalent to China or India.

As an immigrant myself from England, and still waiting after almost 2 years for citizenship, I hear the call for immigration reform. For those of you who have your husbands,wives, children, families together, be grateful for this opportunity. Thousands of families are separated from their families because of a crumbling and broken bureacracy. I have been seperated from my husband for 3 years. Yes he was an overstay, no he is not a criminal. He left Dec 2005. Because of inadequate policies we could not be together without him overstaying a visa, and then there was no way for us to pursue a legal avenue. he had no choice but to return to his country knowing he would incur a 10 year bar. Now our only hope is to petition for him as my husband once I finally get naturalized, he will then be denied entry and then we must bascially beg for firgiveness for his overstay, prove extreme hardship to me the citizen and hope that some kind anonymous officer, reaches into his heart and forgives his overstay. In considering reform and finding a path for those who remained here undocumented, there is a little spoken about piece that affects thousands of US citizens, permanent residents and families in the US. Love does not go away for 10 years, hearts connected though sperated by thousands of miles do not grow weaker, they grow ever stronger. How do you define a hardship to a person. Being forced to choose betweenemembers of their families, for me the choice was my daughter ( us citizen) or my husband. Where we can reunite families, we should... Barack Obama.

I like Libby's and Susan's idea.Are these ideas being forwarded to the new Administration? or are they getting lost in the blog?Could somebody please answer this?Thank you :)

To answer Jessica's question: these ideas were not, to my knowledge, submitted by their authors to the Ideas for Change site linked to above.  They did not, therefore, make it to the second round of voting and will not be among the 10 ideas presented to Obama later this month.  Feel free to submit them as questions to change.gov.  Change.org is not associated with Obama or change.gov. 

To comment on Libby and Susan's ideas:
I know the way cable news and talk radio "report" on foreign policy, it's easy to believe there is a great swathe of communist countries out there sending refugees in waves to wash up on our shores.  In reality, the only communist countries that send appreciable numbers of migrants to the U.S. are China and arguably Cuba.  When China is the most successful practitioner of capitalism for two decades running, communism is, for all practical purposes, dead.  Communism is not the cause of the bulk of migration to the U.S. 

Charging a fine to other countries can be done by a neutral arbiter like the WTO Appellate Body or perhaps the International Court of Justice.  In the international political system, one country can't just go around exacting fines on other countries.  The U.S. could enforce economic sanctions or hold on to assets that pass through the U.S.'s jurisdiction, but to take such drastic measures for something like migration, which sending countries can't control, would be widely resented and counterproductive. 

Also I have never heard of this $10,000 bonus that France is supposed to be giving its undocumented immigrants.  But if you believe (as restrictionists claim) that the prospect of free universal education and ER health care is enough to bring truckloads of migrants over our borders, what would a promise of ten grand do?  I don't think that's an idea Gheen and Krikorian could get behind.

I talked to one of Sen. John Sununu's staffers and she told me that the ratio of calls they got against "amnesty" was "80 to 1 against." And New Hampshire is a fairly liberal state being right next door to Massachusetts.
I called Sen. Kennedy's office (Boston, Mass office) and asked them what the calls on amnesty ran and I was told that they, "didn't wish to comment on it!"
I think that The People want "change" as regards our immigration laws after Bush not enforcing them for the last eight years.
Enforcing our immigration laws or any laws is not "optional."
Being of Irish descent I'd arrest and deport the illegal alien Irish FIRST, just to set the example!
When our elected public officials refuse to enforce our laws we are in real trouble!
We put them into office to do *our* bidding not to "vote their conscience."
Senator Kennedy, singing his drunken version of some Mexican song is a disgrace to the people of Irish descent in this country!
Had he not been born into wealth he'd have been working on a loading dock somewhere.
I just hope he doesn't suffer too much from that brain tumor.
I hope it's quick and painless!
P.E. Obama has already said that if someone is in the country illegally that they need to leave, referring to his aunt in Boston who was ordered deported.
If he starts enforcing our immigration laws he'll be the most popular President in history!

Lovely sentiments.