I'm afraid that having them on record won't have much of an effect. I mean, we already have our visa system. Between 2016-2017, individuals who overstayed their visas accounted for 62 percent of the "newly undocumented". For 7 consecutive years, visa overstays have outnumbered illegal border crossings. Hard to build trust with those statistics.

@ckennettbaker true... but how do you build it? I understand the problem, but I also know we are not going to ship the people out wholesale... there are just too many... and at some point it would seem we have to deal with it...

@Toto the current estimate of illegal foreign nationals in the U.S. -- give or take, depending on the source -- is around 12 million. That seems to be the most consistent figure. So, I can certainly understand where you're coming from.

Amnesty, as far as I'm concerned, should be completely off the table. We're talking about people that commit a federal offense the moment they step into the Country without authorization, and that shouldn't be rewarded with permanent status.

If cost were the issue, it would be cheaper to ship them out wholesale. I know I'd get a lot of flack for saying this, but they didn't use the court system to get into our Country. Why should we allow them their day in court before we ship them back out?

How to build trust? Compliance with the law would be a good start.

true, the law has been broken... but that does not deal with the problem... we currently have 11 to 14 million folks here illegally..... if we filled a bus to capacity and shipped it out every 30 minutes, it is still going to take almost 7 years working 24 hours a day... assuming nobody new shows up and deaths equal births... and that ain't gonna happen... at some point (preferably after the holes in our border are a little more secure) we will have to deal with the folks here illegally...

If only it were that easy. Unfortunately, our "Royal Highness" of a Governor, Kate Brown, signed off on a law that prohibits ALL State agencies, including law enforcement, from treating "undocumented Oregonians" -- i.e. illegal foreign nationals -- as criminals. Oregon police officers, sheriff's deputies and state troopers are banned by law from helping U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents if a suspect's only offense is residing in the country illegally. However, this has spread out to include violent repeat offenders. Oregon is screwed.

@Toto That may be true, but extending them the same rights that legal immigrants worked hard for is just ludacris. We are creating our own problems. I also believe that just because something is hard does not stop you from doing.

@BrunosDad Spot on. Yes, becoming a Naturalized Citizen is a long, expensive process. But for very good reason. A very simplistic example: Which would you appreciate more: A car that was given to you? Or a car you spent time, money and sweat to build yourself?

Citizenship is not a Right, which the Liberals are trying like hell to push. Citizenship is a privilege. Privileges are earned, not given away like candy at a rodeo parade.

@ckennettbaker So then what is the point of having laws? Illegal and crime seem to go hand in hand to me.

@BrunosDad We're seeing a lot of that in our Country nowadays, aren't we? Actually, we're seeing it all over the World. And we know that law is only effective when it's enforced. We're seeing less and less of that.
I've always said we don't need immigration reform. The law is quite clear on immigration. And there are very few in the World that are unaware of our policy. We need immigration enforcement. The problem doesn't only rest with those illegal foreign nationals who show blatant disregard for our laws, but also on those who have been elected to office -- the ones who write legislation -- who show the same blatant disregard. They should all be tried, convicted and incarcerated for treason.

@ckennettbaker Goes back to my old stand by of "if we would only enforce the laws we already have we could save time and money writing new ones." I am less worried about the economic stratification in the US and more worried about the legal.

Just look at the Jesse Smollett case. If it was not for his political ties justice would be carried forward, but since he has elite connections he just walks away free. There are two judicial systems one for us and one for them.(pick your side)

@BrunosDad taking into consideration that the "Smollett Side" would be the team most likely to bring a pacifier to a gunfight, I think I'm just going to stick with the millions of law-abiding gun owners, thank you very much. It worked out quite well for our Nation's Forefathers.

@ckennettbaker not sure what the answer is to a governor who does everything possible to circumvent the law they are asked to uphold.... and that also appears to be what has happened with Smollett... but I am still hoping the federal government steps up on his case... but I don't hold my breath.... I would actually be fine with the guy admitting his guilt and paying a big fine, because than the left can no longer hold him up as some kind of victim.... when in fact, his actions were the worst the left has recently offered....

@BrunosDad I would not suggest we just deliver amnesty without concern for the many others who have come legally and followed our laws.... I only point out that to "ship um back" is not realistic... we must do something more.... and while we are at it... maybe we can shift the penalties from the illegals onto the people who hire them... if the jobs were not there, most would not be here... and cut the government support... I don't want people dieing in the streets, but I don't think any of our support should favor people who are here illegally.... and again, it encourages illegal immigration...

@Guido_Provolone You got that right, Brother! It's a sign of desperation. Illegal alien voting rights, lower the voting age to 16, abolish the Electoral College... all sorts of tactics to secure a vote they wouldn't have otherwise.

@Guido_Provolone Right on!