Now, I will give you the last word. You can disagree and insult to your heart's content. I have said what I wanted to say and I am through with this thread.
I would first like to apologize if something I have said has insulted you. It is not my intention to insult strangers on the internet.
As far as your assessment of the situation, it does appear to be filled with hyperbole and dismissive political tones, rather than an objective look at the situation.
Our net illegal immigration has been at or near zero for a few years now. Meaning that for every one we deport, another enters. This is a substantial improvement from anything we have ever accomplished on the border. That number has been a negative for 35 years. Your claim that the number of illegals are up I would dispute, as almost all sources report that about a million illegals have left the country since 2008. The number widely reported in country now is 11.2 million. Down from over 12 million. The claim that somehow 17,000 Border Patrol agents isn't any better than 2,500 is quite confusing to me and leads me to believe there are some ulterior motives to some of the criticism. 17,000 Border Patrol agents is certainly better than 2,500 and certainly is a part of the reason for the increases effectiveness of border security.
However, none of that really matters terribly when considering your estimation of the situation. The first things I think that you need to consider in a realistic manner are your ideas about securing the border 100% and the active deportation of illegals by force. The two propositions are easily spoken but a casual examination of what is required to come anywhere close to achieving these ideas motivates rational people to explore alternatives. Fact is, these things that are so easily uttered are incredibly difficult and expensive to do. If these two options, 100% border security and 100% deportations are held as the only answer to the problem, in pure economic sense, you may as well let them stay. It's cheaper.
The example I often use to try and convey the scale of deportation some are asking for is WWII Germany. When the Germans began killing "undesirables" they quickly learned something about trying to get rid of masses of people they didn't want around: It is terribly expensive. The prospect of sending death squads from place to place, digging mass graves and shooting people 50 - 100 at a time into the grave, COST TOO MUCH. This is why alternatives were explored, why cattle cars and gas chambers were employed. It was about economics. Now, even with the assembly line style slaughter, it took years to MURDER 6 - 8 million people. Not to feed, incarcerate and deport them... this is how long it took to KILL THEM. And the cost to KILL THEM was in no small way responsible for the economic woes of the German war effort. Now... we aren't talking about killing people. We are talking about rounding up and deporting 12 million + people. Now, do you seriously believe that we can, in an acceptable way, round up 12 million people and deport them? A cursory glance at the German exercise in rounding up and killing people tells most reasonable people that it is simply too expensive and poses to much risk to human rights to attempt to send out the kind of force it would take to round up 12 million people. The Germans are the only people who have ever managed to actually pull it off and it meant shipping people hundreds and thousands at a time in crammed into cattle cars. Realistic people know that this is not an option. Even if we did find the money and the means to deport these people there is another consideration many don't make. Most people passionate about this issue will say it's a "flood" of illegals...it's a "wave" and on and on with the hyperbole. So... considering that this has been a "flood" or a "wave" it has taken 40 YEARS of this flood to reach the level of illegals we have in the country. 40 years of a voluntary "wave" of people coming. Do tell how anyone can believe that we can root them out by force in any less time? This is going to take A LONG TIME if you think they will EVER be removed. It took 40 years of what people describe as a FLOOD for them to get here. Thinking you can deport them any faster is just not the idea of someone who has actually sat down and considered the logistics of the issue. The cries of "send them home NOW!" are frantic pleas of people who either just haven't thought about the situation for more than a moment or they are looking for a political tool because the request is not reasonable. Can't be done, short of resorting to Gestapo tactics similar to Germany WWII and that would BREAK US. We can't afford it. Maybe you have noticed the frantic screams of the "frantics" here on this board regarding our financial situation? And anyone thinks we can mount this kind of effort to forcibly migrate 12 million people? This is not an intelligent or reasonable person's solution.
Now, I'm not going to go into detail about this 100% border security idea you relate. I've heard it before and I have step by step followed through on that thought with a rabid "secure the border" type. By the end, he had decided that 100% border security wasn't going to happen. If you would like to have that conversation, please begin by telling me your vision of what 100% border security would entail. We'll run a budget for that too.
I am a proponent of getting rid of the illegals in our country. But I have come to the very reasoned conclusion, after much study of the issue, the only economic solution, indeed the super duper easy solution is one simple thing: take their jobs. Take the jobs and they self deport. They walk home just like they got here, on their own dime. No soldiers, no fences, no arrest and deportations, no door to door round ups looking for 12 million people scattered all around the country. State by state, you pass ONE LAW. 90 days mandatory for the owner / CEO of any company found with an illegal on the job. Period. No excuses. No exceptions. You see, enforcing our laws on US citizens is just easier than trying to enforce it on non citizens. That is a whole 'nother conversation about international treaties and constitutional law, but trust me... it is a BIG part of why some of these laws have trouble.
In short, favor getting them out of here. But these calls for massive deportations and 100% border security are just not realistic. Not going to happen. We don't have the money and it would be a humanitarian disaster for which we would pay an incredible price in credibility. The choice is simple: Go after 12 million scattered people, one by one at traffic stops, or go after a handful of meat packers and chicken processors that stand behind our border patrol waving dollar bills at poor people. The folks that create this problem will all fit into the conference room at a Holiday Inn. If we chose to rip the heart of this rather than play politics and ethnic games, we could get these people started walking home today.
