Well then, I guess we just see this differently then.
I believe we had control of our boarders into the late 20th century, from that point, the criminals from Mexico have grown from a trickle, to a 100 year flood.
It would be more accurate to say that for most of our history we made no effort to control our borders.
BTW I oppose illegal immigration, I also support monitoring the borders. But, being a realist means that I recognize the truth instead of making inflamatory statements or getting angry over artificial issues.