Redstate

valuable potential future citizens

with lines like this I am a shoe-in.

If immigration was even a luke-warm issue in the ongoing Congressional and state primary elections, illegal immigrants would have a reason to be concerned. The reality is that the status of illegal immigrants more resembles that of providers and consumers of alcoholic beverages during Prohibition ( 1919-1933). With the exception of the heavily impacted counties of a few SW border states, illegal immigration is regarded as a necessary evil that helps them to enjoy beautiful lawns and lower prices for food service and groceries. The time to worry is if and when illegal immigration becomes a nation-wide primary election issue.

Just a few days ago I would have agreed with you, not now:

1)500,000 protestors waving Mexican flags has raised the national awareness.

2)The unsatiable appetite of our 24 hr news service to provide the moonbats of this movement airtime will exagerate the minority anti-American sentiment.

3)Both parties feel the need to have the issue resolved in a manner that protects their potential to garner the Hispanic vote.

Not to mention if this was done right and like they had a pair, it could actually be a win-win for either party placating both their base and the immigrants.

http://www.npg.org/immpoll.html

The problem may be more severe in the SW but it is certainly not limited to it. Every corner of the country is impacted. There is nowhere in the US you can go without running into illegals.

http://www.pollingreport.com/immigration.htm

....demonstrate opposition to illegal immigration comparable to e.g. Drunk Driving that kills more Americans than illegal immigrants ? Name one national anti-illegal immigration special interest group with name recognition comparable to "Mothers Against Drunk Driving".  All legislators understand that their re-election depends on those who vote in primary elections, instead of the non-voting contributors to talk radio and blogs. While sound and fury attracts more attention, it is primary election voters and special interest groups that create new legislation.

The Minuteman Project.

enough credit, I certainly didn't during the DPW affair a few weeks back and this noise is much louder.  Speaking of special interests groups, my bet is that you will see a large amount of union support very soon for "immigrant rights" and other special interest groups will jump on the bandwagon much as they did with shyster sheehan.  

These protest will continue and eventually become unruly until the police start arresting people and then it will not matter whether they threaten, carry out, or refuse to deport people... because they are going to enrage one side regardless of which action they decide upon.

the proclivity of the political class for placating and stroking a potential class of voters in preference to current Americans.  At least on this issue.  

If a timeline was placed on an amnesty program, wouldn't we see a huge inrush of "tourists" and border hoppers.  Getting back to the topic of my diary, wouldn't it be pragmatic for those that had planned to go the legal route, to bybass the process with the easier amnesty alternative?

There is no need at the present time to address the problem posed by the illegal aliens already in this country.  To do so just increases the pressure for more to enter.  My fuller rationale is here.

ps.  My daughter is a naturalized American citizen, and even that wasn't easy.

it is so much easier to 'suck up' to a potential voting bloc than it is to persuade all those, uggh, individual voters.

Remaining aloof from and refusing to descend into the muddy arena of American politics automatically forfeits each contest to those willing to endure the humility of mere team membership. The gratification enjoyed by remaining on top of one's ivory tower is often diminished by the cost of such pleasure.