No one that I have been hearing has said anything about providing citizenship. Everything on the table right now is about temp and guest worker programs and eternal green cards. Actually, the real story is really the lack of increases in citizenship paths under most of the proposals being floated.

The Sunbelt was populated in substantial part as a result of white flight from the midwest and east. Blacks moved north, following jobs, and whites moved, first to the suburbs, then to the Sunbelt. Ha, ha. Where are they going to run to now that Latinos are moving in?

To dissent: what a bunch of racist BS. I've never met anyone who would move to the other side of the country because there were too many blacks, Latinos, whites, etc., in the state where they lived.

The majority of Americans do not want amnesty. If the Democrats push the immigration issue, they will LOSE a lot of votes. A recent poll showed the vast majority of Americans AGAINST amnesty. If some wealthier people in the community want to sponsor a family, why not, but middle class Americans cannot afford the labor competition.

We can sympathize with people that want a better life, but we literally cannot afford it. We need the jobs for Americans. A surplus of immigrants in this country has depressed wages and Americans are getting layed off, and are underemployed, housing values are declining now....

America is in a debt crisis.

Foreclosures are way up in my area.

A spokesperson for one of the big consumer credit companies in my state said recently that the main reason for credit counseling was job loss.

It is NOT about race.

It is about being able to make a decent living in your own country as a number one priority.

It is about feeding your family.

When times get tough you need to take care of your own first, and the illegal immigrants are illegal. ILLEGAL.

Don't be cruel. Don't round people up - that is ridiculous. It is the fault of our federal government for not doing their job, and I'm sure industry is contributing $$ for their oversight on this issue because they want cheap labor.

Make it less desireable to live here. Leave it to employers to verify there employees are citizens. A background check should do. If they cannot list previous addresses back to their birth that can be verified, then don't hire them. Or get a stiff penalty like $5,000. per employee. The next time it happens make it $10,000. Three strikes you lose your business liscence... something like that. Penalty money should go toward scholarships for educating underpriveledged Americans. They have been hurt the worst. If the federal government cannot handle this work load, it would be good to have state governments and local governments assist to make sure the job gets done.

The foreign worker visas streamline offshoring and depress American wages, so they (except for a few limited exceptions) should be discontinued. A study has shown that there is no one to one relationship between offshoring & the visas.

To get votes from many Hispanics Democratic leaders are willing to sell out the American working class. African American Democrat from Texas Barbara Jordan opposed this in her Congressional report.

I think Mike Gravel was right that we can't solve the immigration problem without re-examining NAFTA and the actual effects it has had.

Mexico's agriculture industry has been devastated by competition from subsidized crops in the USA -- most notably corn. Now that ethanol demand is boosting the price of corn, Mexicans have been protesting the resultant rise in tortilla prices.

Meanwhile, their manufacturing industry has grown, but it is primarily an assembling industry, importing parts and exporting the complete products. Income inequality has accelerated, and real wages are stagnating, in both the US and Mexico.

For all the rhetoric about Free Markets and Free Trade, the actual effect seems to be that corporations have gained a lot more ability to pick and choose where they get the best profits, while individual workers are buffeted by the giant sucking sounds unleashed in all directions by the crafty and disingenuous "Free" trade policies of our governments.