Neil seems to have missed the point: we don't have a right to round up American school teachers. We do have a right to round up illegal aliens, as does every other sovereign country. If someone says that country does not have that right, then they are by definition opposing the very structures of that country.

Chatterbox seems to have missed the archives here, which have discussed port and other forms of security.

I don't support Canadians flooding the U.S. job market either. However, they aren't doing that, and their government is not as hostile to this country as Mexico is.

This site also does not support dual citizenship and certainly does not support those who hold it being appointed to government positions.

Dear Nobrakes:
To answer your question, yes there are ways for Mexican nationals to work legally in the US.
Here are three sites with information on work permits in the US.

Sponsored Results Want to work in the USA?
Apply for a Green Card and receive our assistance
www.Official-Green-Card.org
United States Immigration
Citizenship, Visas and Green Cards Download Immigration Forms
www.usimmigrationsupport.org
Live and Work in USA
Official Green Card Visa Program Get a Green Card Online!
www.Green-Card-America.org

And, don't let the life-long pleasures of "wide open spaces" escape you. Go find some and renew your spirits. If you do, you will come back in often your mind.

And thank you so much for agreeing to contact your representatives. You are a nice person. Are all city folk like you? Maybe I better go to town more often.

Hi LomaAlta,
Can Mexican nationals get work permits in the States? I am ignorant of this and also I have lived my life in a city so that the concept of"wide open spaces" doesn't register with me. I wish you luck in your attempts at a solution for these problems and will watch for legislation that helps and contact my reps urging that they address the issues.
Regards
nobrakes

Dear nobreaks:
Thank you for your comments and understanding of the problems we face. I agree with what you say except ..." non-criminal illegals ...". This I feel is an oxymoron. If you break the law this is a criminal act and you are therefore a criminal. If you to say illegal aliens not convicted of violent crimes or something like that I could agree. But, it should also be noted that convicted illegal aliens (convicted of serious felonies) are the largest single group in our federal prison system.

Thanks again.

Hola perro!
You would be referring to Republicans and their corporate overlords? If so, I am in complete agreement. In my statement re a PR campaign, maybe a grassroots, multistate effort through the various Chambers of Commerce and media outlets would start the ball rolling. I'm just throwing stuff out there obviously but to me it's better than throwing up your hands.

(...)Maybe a public relation campaign framing the problem in more humane terms (focusing on the deaths involved along with the impact on the population that you outlined in your post)would be productive.
The problem is that all the Big Bucks are on the side of the traitorous greedheads for whom the US is simply a source of profit. To these lice the complete fusion of US, Canada and Mexico is both desirable and inevitable.

LomaAlta-
My intent was not to minimize your concerns for border security/safety but just to illustrate that all our borders and especially our ports are extremely lax on both issues. I don't feel that non-criminal illegals looking for work and smuggling rings should be viewed as one problem. Exactly how each issue is handled (or not) would most likely involve all the authorities you mention plus the DEA. I don't claim to have any answers but I do feel that building a wall, for example, would be folly. Pressure on your respective representatives is only one option. I do think that the penalties for anyone transporting illegals should be severe. Maybe a public relation campaign framing the problem in more humane terms (focusing on the deaths involved along with the impact on the population that you outlined in your post)would be productive. In other words, try to alter the perception of people up north (like me!) who may view your concerns as racist or reactionary. I am NOT insinuating that you are a racist. As Americans, we are all in this together.

Nobreaks:
The US-Canada border is about 4000 mi long and the US-Mexico border is about 2000 mi long. Hardly a tiny fraction. And, an estimated 1-2 million illegal aliens cross a ~200 mile stretch of the border called the Tucson sector. The amount of litter, environmental damage, and crime from these millions of illegals is enormous.

dear nobrakes:
I don't think the situation you describe near Canada is accurate for our southern border. AZ, NM, and TX governors have declared a border state of emergency, the AZ game and fish dept recommmends that hunters and fishermen stay out of the southern 20% of AZ because of "homeland security" issues, the Forest service will reccommend in person (not publically) that one not camp in the national forests in southern AZ. It simply is not save in these areas because of armed illegals and smugglers.
And, there have been over a hundred armed incursions into the USA by the Mexican Army in the past few years. In the latest incident near El Paso (it was reported here, look in the archives) the Mexican Army set up machine guns and backed the sheriff deputies, Border Patrol, and FBI down. The FBI held a press conference to describe the incident and a Congressional committee is investigating.

Open borders policy is a very big deal here along our southern border. Add 2-5 million pounds of smuggled drugs and who knows how many terrorists and you can appreciate the problem. So please accept our pleas for help along our border as a serious national security issue as well as a rule of law issue.

Back again-here's another question-is it A-OK for neo-cons like Richard Perle and Chertoff to hold dual Israeli/American citizenship and hold high security positions in our government? Why did an Israeli based company called Verint install the communication equipment in the White House? Okay that's 2 questions. What say there,sparky?

I live about 3/4 of a mile from the Peace Bridge to Canada. I can see Canada across the Niagara River from where I am sitting. All this uproar about illegal aliens make me laugh. The border with Mexico is a tiny fraction of our border with Canada which also has more water access to the US. If illegals come thru the southern border to clean toilets and pick fruit, Canadians are free to get work permits with no problem and use them to work in white collar and professional occupations that Americans could and would do. I worked for the major newspaper in Buffalo NY in the late 70's/early 80's and many of the workers resided in Canada and commuted daily. I now work for the County hospital in the ER and at least 5 nurses employed there (in ER alone) are Canadian residents. Where is the hue and cry over this? Another point-I have taken Amtrak from Buffalo to Toronto several times (the trains cross the International Bridge) and the trip to Canada is smooth sailing (so to speak). The trip back-not so much. Many Asians and "others" traveling to the US and on to NYC or wherever hold up Customs carrying who knows what up to and including live chickens. So where exactly would you put more emphasis on security? Just asking.

If the non-terrorist illegal aliens could not get a good job, they would not come. The ones who are saisfied with day labor (probably only until they get connected to more reliable work) keep our construction and gardening costs down. The ones with the more reliable work keep all labor costs down. Bush-the-rich-corporatist likes both outcomes. If we are truly concerned about security against Islamic extremists (which I don't think Bush is), by all means close the border and clamp down on the corporations hiring the illegals. One or the other won't work. Then brace yourselves for the inflation. (The morality of all this is complex.)

The ports would still be wide open to smuggling bad things, and the sleeper cells would still be forming. 1 billion Muslims out there are pretty annoyed with us. If only 1 in 10,000 are actively engaged, that's 100,000 brains thinking up ways to hurt us.

Maybe we need to pay attention to hearts-and-minds. I don't think Karen Hughes is up to the job.

Chatterbox:
First, conservatives are concerned about security. The port issue has just come up and is being discussed widely and extensively. Suggest you do your research before you make pronouncements.

Open borders allow illegal immmigration, drug smuggling, and terrorist smuggling & access. These are long standing, more widespread, and, many feel more important than the ports issue. The ports issue is important, but so far I have not seen that millions of people have broken US law. Between the illegal aliens and those hiring them many laws are broken millions of times every day.

High school level (or MSM) tricks like "Seems odd if your concern is really security..."
lead the reader to imagine that the objections are based on something else. The obvious, but false implication is the race card. There is nothing racists about protecting America and its national sucurity.

If I were to return your trickky little stunt I might say: "It seems odd that if you were really patriotic, you could not continue to support destroying the rule of law in America ..."

I wonder why "conservatives" don't spend a tenth so much time discussing port security. Seems odd if your concern is really security...

What if we tried to expel millions of illegal aliens. Would they resist? Are we avoiding expeling them out of fear of what they would do? If so, then once again: we've been invaded and settled.

I think you're onto something there. And you know who else might resist if we try to round them up and punish them collectively? Public school teachers! How long can we endure this threat?

Blackshire: That is a misleading comment. I don't know who Lone's acnestors were. The question is were they legal immigrants or criminals? Do you support the rule of law in America or can you pick and choose which laws to break?

All illegal immmigrants commit criminal conspiracy and crimes to enter, to stay here & to work here.
The same is true for those who hire illegals, they conspire to break the laws and are breaking them every day.
No unfairness, no ancestors, no racism, or any other excuses. There are legal ways to become citizens of the US--all other ways are criminal.

And your ancestors were who?