Illegal Immigration

It has received a lot of coverage in the news lately, ranging from the border incursion that Bear wrote about to the discovery of a well-designed 1200 yard tunnel from Tijuana to San Diego. All of this indicates that we have a great deal more to do before we resolve our problems with illegal immigration.

Instapundit highlights the issue ahead of Tuesday's State of the Union Address:

IMMIGRATION REMAINS THE "SLEEPER ISSUE" in U.S. politics, but I just got a press release from Time suggesting that it may not sleep much longer:
Almost two-thirds of Americans (63%) consider illegal immigration a “very serious” or “extremely serious” problem in the United States, according to a TIME Poll. The majority (74%) believes the U.S. is not doing enough to secure its borders. . . .
TIME’s Poll shows that half (50%) of Americans favor deporting all illegal immigrants back to their home countries (45% oppose). Three-in-four (76%) favor allowing illegal immigrants in the U.S. to earn citizenship if they learn English, have a job and pay taxes. . . . Meanwhile 700,000 undocumented immigrants from around the world continue to enter the U.S. each year, according to the Pew Hispanic Center.
I favor making legal immigration easier -- essentially under the guidelines above -- but I also favor much stricter enforcement against illegal immigration. Which, I think, puts me pretty much on the opposite side of the issue from the Bush Administration.

I share Bear's sympathy for the hardworking people that come to America in order to provide for their families down south. Nevertheless, my respect for the rule of law and displeasure with the poor enforcement of U.S. border security trumps that sympathy. I do believe we can still welcome those seeking a better life, but do it legally, holding all people accountable when they break the law of the land.