I'm not sure I agree that some of the comments here have not been rather bigotted....but it is not against the law in any case.

But thre are some myths being repeated here that I think we should explode.

They don't pay taxes.
I don't know about your grocery store but mine does not have a line for those who are legal residents....taxes collected and a separate line for those who are not legal....no taxes. Furthermore, if someone is employed using an illegal social security number...they pay state income tax, federal income tax, and social security income tax (FICA). Because they are illegal, they will never collect social security nor can they file a return and get back any overpayment of taxes.

All the stuff they get free
It is true many foreign nationals do not want to give up citizenship in their native country. That does not mean they want to work here illegally. Despite what some think....it is not comfortable (nor easy) to be in this country illegally. You must always be afraid. Deportation hangs over your head. When I worked in the software industry we had many foreign nationals -- legally (H1-B). Some were interested in citizenship. Some were interested in permanent residence. Many planned on returning someday to their home country. (Always was an issue convincing them to participate in the 401(k). Until they understood they could take it with them.)

An aside at this point....we were hiring H1-B's because we could not find US educated graduates in the software field. I would have preferred to do so. Cheaper of course. My dream was to find a US educated and raised female with the right training. But math and science isn't cool to many of our young people.

There are many countries throughout the world which depend on their citizens working elsewhere and sending home wages. Egypt, the Phillipines are examples.

It is a complex problem with many layers. I do not know what the solution is. I don't think blaming it ALL on Mexican immigrants is the solution. I don't think builidng a wall between the US and Mexico and mass deportation is the answer.

And I don't think taking a Those People attitude helps the discussion. We have seen it before. There was a law denying immigration to Chinese, there was the Know Nothing political party -- dedicated to anti-immigration and anti-Catholic in the 1800's. There was the common sign in business in the 1920's and 1930's....NINA No Irish Need Apply.

Rather than a revisionist and emotional attitude about immigration in the past in this country, I think we should take a realistic and factual look at it and see if we can learn how it fix it this time.