Yes. Stop the reason for them coming here! Conservatives in this country have been hiring Mexicans for many, many years at cheap prices to gather crops, build roofs, shovel dirt, etc. Put just a few of those dudes (conservatives)who mostly hire them, in JAIL for 60 days, with one year to follow next time, and see how many that they give jobs again. No jobs--no need to come here. It would then be pretty easy to spot an Arab coming through Mexico into Arizona, wouldn't it? In the past the terrorists came in legally or with forged papers, or through Canada. A fence in Mexico is a vote getter for dummies. I plan to sell ladders that are one foot taller than the fence, myself! No, not really but someone will.

I don't intend this to be a demeaning comparison, though it is probably tempting to read it that way.

The National Park Service learned a long time ago that the way to stop bears from invading campgrounds was not by putting up barriers ("bear-iers"?), but by educating campers about food storage, etc. The policy has been successful, as the bears (typically) no longer think of campsites as sources of food.

Hardtack is right about his main point: putting up a fence only *looks* like our government is being "proactive" ("Look! We've put up a fence!"), but it will be largely ineffective.

Go after the people are are providing the work so that such employment dries up, and it just won't be worth it to make a long and desperate trip to wind up in a country where one is (a) unemployed and (b) illegal--thus not guaranteed the full range of civil rights that come with citizenship.

Such employers only do this because it is cheap labor. There are no noble sentiments among them about the need for these poor people to earn a living. They're just cheapskates who would rather supplant local workers for the sake of shaving a few bucks off of their overhead.

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Do you have a link to support this? Otherwise, let's move on to real answers and not mud-slinging.

What I can't get past is your statement that "Conservatives in this country have been hiring Mexicans for many, many years at cheap prices to gather crops, build roofs, shovel dirt, etc." You lose me when you make it the fault of conservatives (of which I am proudly a member). I do not now, nor have I ever, hired an illegal for anything. Last time I checked the hollywood left has some pretty good looking yards. Let's just solve the problem ans stop the flood and stop pointing fingers.

Georgia has one of the highest populations of illegals. Just how many building contractors, large plantation owners raising vegetables, etc., or business owners do you know who ARE NOT conservatives here? Sonny knows this and hides it while pretending to "seal" borders.

The Republican Party in recent years has consisted of the producers in this country. Those that create jobs, hire employees, pay the taxes. They have to be the ones doing the Mexican hirings. Becasue the Democrats don't create businesses or wealth and primarily exist to feed off the hard work of others. So how can they hire if they don't create jobs?

I guess we do have a red hot economy here in Georgia..... you may be right .... since the dreaded conservatives hire and promote I guess they do have to take the blame for hiring those who are willing to work. My bad.

I really have no idea how many of the working men and employers you are talking about are conservatives. Actually, Hall county has the fastest growing hispanic population and that is primarily because of the large number of chicken processing plants and related industry. I don't know how many of them are conservatives either. I actually see the problem as an National Security issue. I think we need both to punish the employers (we could by enforcing what is already on the books) and deter the illegals through punishment (See: Joe Apaio). I also favor a wall to help slow down the trespassers (built by illegals of course), sonic imaging for tunnels (Oil technology -common now), and anything else that will help us to put the lid on the flood of illegals.

You're right; illegal immigration is a national security issue. Those terrorists who actually hit us came across the Canadian border (not Mexico). So, what do you -- or any of the bloggers here who claim to want meaningful immigration reform -- propose to do about the Northern border of the U.S.?

Illegal immigrants from the former Soviet Union have engaged in some of the most violent gang activity American law enforcement has ever seen. Anyone recall the abandoned shipload of Chinese illegal immigrants found adrift in New York harbour? Asian gangs in America (which are comprised largely of illegal immigrants) have been the source of the chrystal meth (a.k.a. "ice") epidemic. Chrystal meth is a more credible threat to the peace and security of Fayette County citizens than a bunch of illegal lawn service workers and roofers. So, where is the outrage against the immigrants who import it? When do we erect the wall between us and Canada? And the one question that has yet to be answered is as to why the focus of this debate is solely on the southern border?

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If you and I are always in agreement, one of us is likely armed and dangerous.