Clowns on the Left, Jokers on the Right: Stuck With Immigration Mess

Illegal aliens decry the supposedly onerous requirements that illegal aliens return to their home countries in a touchback period (which may be as short as one day - no one knows for sure since there is no bill to work from) and pay a fine of $5,000 to gain the right to be considered lawfully residing in the US.

It's not the part about having to go back home to Mexico that Hilario Castro thinks is tough. It's not the eight-year wait for a green card. For him and other illegal immi grants, he said, the roughest part of the new Senate immigration reform plan will be the price tag.

"Oh, Dios mío," said Castro, an immigrant from Mexico who says he earns $70 a day as a landscaper and pays $500 a month in rent. "They're going to take $5,000 from us. It will be easier to go and come back than it will be to pay that."

Let's get this out of the way at the outset. The millions of people who are here in the US illegal are violating US law. They are illegal aliens. They are not undocumented workers, which is simply a euphemism created by these same groups to disguise the fact that they are in the US illegally. If you want to be in the country, you have to go through the proper channels, which means obtaining the proper visa and adhering to the law.

The millions of folks who did not enter the US and obtain the proper visas and paperwork are here illegally, and it is little more than a slap on the wrist to demand that one simply return home and reenter the US lawfully and pay a fine of $5,000 to gain lawful entry. $5,000 is more than a reasonable amount to pay for the privilege of being in the US.

There is no simple answer to the border control and illegal alien problem facing the country, but the absolute minimum one must demand of Congress is proper and adequate enforcement. That means doing absolutely everything necessary to secure the borders - not just building a fence along the US-Mexico border, but at other border entry points including airports and ports.

Michelle Malkin points out the criticisms from the right. There are good points to be made here. We've been down the road of amnesty in the past and it's simply resulted in even more people here illegally. Unless you actually take constructive steps and enforce US law and the borders, illegal aliens will continue to come in and circumvent the process.

AJ Strata seems to think that this is the best that we can expect from all involved, but hopes that the security and border control measures are not only enacted, but enforced.

I concur. This bill needed to be closely examined, and once that happens, then determine and demand that the enforcement provisions are not only enforced, but that oversight and compliance is assured.