> The one part of this I believe in pretty strongly is a common line of reasoning used to make conclusions about immigration laws. And that is a rebuttal to the "sense of entitlement" accusation of Americans protecting their own. I don't see "entitlement" as the motive; rather, that the function of a national government is first to care for its own and second to care for the world. It may sound callous, but it's not: if everybody cares for everybody else, nobody gets cared for. It's easier to think of it on a smaller scale, with families. The responsibility of family members is first to care for family -- children, elderly parents, crazy aunts, whoever -- and second for everybody else. If you don't believe that, you won't believe my government analogy, but that's where I'm coming from.

I'm glad you mentioned this, because it ties in to my in-my-head response to something Stephen said in the other thread. The quote: "Frankly I'd let anyone who want it get on the "path to citizenship" without regard to quotas (I don't believe governments have the right to tell people where they can and cannot live)." I can, in theory, agree with this. However, I also believe that the government's first responsibility is to the citizens of that country, and if immigration gets to the point where it's causing problems for the people who are already here, something needs to be done.

**Warning: Tangent ahead!**

The arguement that bugs me the most is that we *need* illegal immigrants for their cheap labor. First let me say that I don't like minimum wage laws; employers should be able to choose to hire whoever will give them the most value for their dollar, and if a person is willing to work for below minimum wage there's no reason the government should require that he be paid more.

The real problem here is the welfare state we've created. We hand out so much money in social programs that it's impractical for citizens to take low-paying, undesirable jobs. I have actually known people who have expressed that exact sentiment to me- why should I work when I can get more income from unemployment checks?

If we can again become a country that values hard work and takes pride in *not* taking government handouts, we'd see a big increase in the portion of the workforce willing to do those jobs that we currently "need" illegal immigrants to do for us. And if we can get rid of minimum wage laws, we'll save employers from having to hire illegals and pay them under the table in order to properly compensate for the work done.