For the most part I think Mexicans are hard working and honest people. Obviously the reason they come to America is for work, and over the last 10 years or so, when the unemployment rate was near zero this country needed their valuable manual labor badly. They serviced this country's housing boom, a large part of the travel and leisure industry, food processing, landscaping, and touched almost all manual labor industries. While we bitched and moaned about their illegal status, we gluttonously consumed all that they made possible, and on the cheap. Much like oil, the country became, and is still addicted to all that they make affordable. Think of the cost if unioned employee's at worse, or just straight up non unioned American's performed these jobs. We cry "they're stealing American jobs", and at the same time throw millions of Americans out of work and support Communist China through the mass consumption of their inferior products. The contractor that goes out of business because of a competitors use of Illegal labor should be given no more sympathy than the manufacture that goes out of business because he can't compete with Chinese goods, much of which comes over here illegally.

The question is more an economic one than political. Labor is sensitive to supply and demand, only in this case when the demand for labor exceeded the supply, we have been fortunate that the cost actually dropped. Sure, some of that savings is offset by some individuals gaming off the system, crime, and other cost's to society, but much of the money earned is spent locally and stimulates the economy too. Without this resource American companies would have been put in a labor bidding war against each other, or you would have just had to get in line for that new house you were so anxious to move into. It's easy to imagine the whole housing phenomenon would not even have happened without Illegal labor, maybe that's the real curse of the current economic condition. Darn those illegals for causing all this to happen.

Not surprisingly, because the so called problem is an economic one, it will in large part fix itself. As the recession deepens, lots of these people will go home. It's easier to be poor in Mexico than it is in America, but that won't keep us from admiring our wall and camera's and claiming them a success in deterring unwanted entry. Still, in the long run, America better figure out how to get these people legal. Infrastructure jobs, AKA shoveling hot asphalt in 100 degree heat are not the things American's are made of, and it is the Mexican people that will rebuild America.

The final irony is that if we do get them legal, we loose through higher cost of wages, insurance, payroll taxes, etc. Still, America needs to start looking at Mexico as a valuable resource and not a stupid political football.

I would write as eloquently about this issue as you did, but I have this rule (mostly base on experience): Don't write much after a bottle of wine. So, this simply has to suffice: One thing we can all enjoy while really helping the country of Mexico right now is to go on vacation there, enjoy their beautiful beaches and the people, while we drop as much money with the locals as possible. They are hurting more than we are right now. Cheers.

I've been basically hearing that most of these workers are coming to America to earn the American dollar to send back home because it is worth so much more there. They come here and work for a few years, work like crazy and save, then move back home and live like kings. So it's all about earning a premuim wage compared to what's available at home.

It actually makes a lot of sense to me. If things were opposite, I'm sure an awful lot of Americans would be hopping the wall too.