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Originally Posted by Crompsin
I'd gladly pay 3x the amount I'm paying for vegetables if it meant that our system was working without paying subminimum wages to illegals.
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Alright, well we're cool then. But most people in American probably would not agree.
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Legality is a totally black or white area in statutory law. Enforcement of said laws, however, is not.
Illegal means a whole lot in the US. Ever dealt with the court system? 
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Yes, this is a good point of clarification. I have dealt with the court system on occasion--but ONLY when I've been caught. A few speeding tickets here and there, but nothing like what I deserve for my illegal activities behind the wheel.
Perhaps what we should instead be saying is that these are Under-Enforced Illegal Immigrants, to get the point across. Because that IS the point... that America does its piddly best to "enforce" these immigration laws, but certainly not what is in our full capability to do, because it's not in our best economic and political interests to "enforce" these things. Here it is again:
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Originally Posted by Slate
If we thought illegal immigration was really a bad thing—if, say, the problem were the unlawful arrival not of workers, but of disease-bearing chickens—the government might rapidly deploy the most effective form of enforcement, with the support of all parts of society.
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If we REALLY, REALLY cared that these people were breaking our laws (and by "we," I mean big business and politicians, the ones who actually have the power to do something here), they could do it. They could take severe action. But they aren't doing it. They don't particularly care if the immigrants are illegal, as long as they are doing what they're supposed to be doing: giving the US cheap labor. Continuing again...
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Originally Posted by Slate
But instead the nation tolerates illegal immigration to create a de facto guest-worker program. Immigration is what economists call "trade in services," and effective enforcement would make most services more expensive, just as blockading China would make many goods more expensive. It can be tough on low-wage workers, but the United States is richer overall because we get cheaper labor, while Mexicans and other workers are richer for selling it.
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Can you argue with this? Where is this analysis wrong?