First, before the Congress has time to argue about the illegal residents they must put together a budget and get funds for the Obama government that will soon be out of money to spend. Next, again before the Congress wants to start paying all these illegals they want to have a law that closes the borders of the US to all trying to sneak in. Without an effort to close the borders they will continue to come by the busload and trainloads, just like this last large group of south of the border children and young people have done
Obama just does not want to shut our borders as has been asked for over many years now. But that will not stop our government of today from keeping taking in more and more illegals and being stuck with the problem of taking care of them for many, many, years.
Our liberal ones in the government have not idea of fairness to the existing citizens and the cost of the illegals to our medical and school and police systems.
"... have a law that closes the borders..." We already have that. Why do you think the immigrants are referred to as "illegal". Neither political party will fund putting military on the border and closing it like the old Iron Curtain. That is the ONLY way to put a stop to illegal entry across out borders... gunships and shoot on sight orders. I don't believe any of us want our Country responsible for killing and murdering women and children who try to cross the border. Some suggest a fence. Sheesh! Tell me how you will build a fence that cannot be tunneled under, laddered over, or cut through. Electrify it?? Again, you will have fried human remains scattered for miles. Is that what you want?
The issue of illegal immigration goes back far beyond this President. I worked law enforcement for a short time in the 1970's in a railroad town. The illegals would jump from the trains as they slowed to go through our town. We'd round them up, put them in a cell. INS (That's what is was referred to at that time) would bring a van, load them up, and ship them back to Mexico. We would see the same people show up in about 2 to 3 weeks. They were looking for work. Some got by us and found work with the farmers in the area. Most got sent back home.
You also mention the cost of educating, feeding, and providing medical care for the immigrants. If you give them work visas... or a path to citizenship... they will be paying taxes just like you and I. Most are working somewhere now. If they must stay "out of sight of the government", they are being paid cash 'under the table'. Make them "legal" so they can compete for jobs with anyone else. That way, the corporations would need to pay a living wage and the competiton becomes fair. Leave it so the undocumented will... have to work for wages far below current minimum wage and we do lose good jobs to them.
1. There is no way to shut down our borders without maintaining a military presence that reaches far beyond the land border with Mexico. Boats can haul thousands, just like trucks.
2. Establish a means by which the undocumented will be paying taxes. Those taxes will pay their fair share of medical, schooling, and food.
3. Get politics out of the picture. An immigration reform bill was passed by the Senate a year ago and Boehner would not bring it before the House. The Republicans don't want their political cronies to lose the cheap labor. The Democrats don't want to lose a demographic that usually votes "blue".
With all due respect, there are means through which to make those entering our Country contributors to our industries, our professional careers, our military, our schools... OUR neighborhoods. It is sad, in my opinion, that we do nothing but look for ways to ship what could be such an asset to our Country back to the squalor of their native lands. This Great Land took in immigrants from Europe, Asia, Russia... world wide... who have been contributors to our society and our economy. The border with Mexico has become nothing but a political hot-potato with each Party looking for ways they can gain something over the other. We have lowered ourselves to not thinking for ourselves about how to make this a positive issue. Instead we listen to political pundits on radio and television who know that stirring turmoil builds an audience. We play political games with fellow human beings as the pawns.