1 I was thinking about alien labor this weekend. Seems like there does need to be a two pronged approach. For the Right - yes, there should be increased patrols and stronger enforcement. Public participation is key. INS needs to be able to go in an arrest illegals. They should not be allowed to work their way into the system with phoney or suspect identification. If that means national ID cards, then so be it. For the Left - businesses that hire illegal labor should be punished with stiff fines. Maybe even draft unions into the fold. They are being undercut by cheap foreign labor and they have a lot to lose. There should be whistleblower programs that allow mid-level staff at business who suspect their company of hiring illegals. We need to take the economic incentive to be taken away. Here is where things get a little sticky. I saw a thing on the news about people protesting day laborers at the Home Depot. Are they illegal aliens? Of course they are. What got me was the pro-Mexican supporters protesting the protesters. Huh? Look, those who hire illegal aliens for their low financial demands are exploiting them. So helping those folks to give jobs to aliens is helping to exploit them. Just about any alien working in the US is exploited. That is the nature of being outside the law. It is unfair and inhumane. If you want to stop the exploitation, you must patrol the borders,, round up illegal workers and make clear to employers that they will gain no economic benefit from illegal labor. When the agricultural, food service, construction and other service industries are made to pay one way or another, then they will have a better incientive to provide living wages to American workers.

2 I am a bit concerned by two statements in the article. Says there was a "tip" in 2004. Says the events happened earlier this year. Granted the tip could have been on December 30th of something, but this is starting to sound like a muffled wistleblower to me. Are we safer yet? Nope Big bidness still calling the shots

3 Amen Bill, amen.

4 GRRRR! Why doesn't Bush personally address this?!?!

5 During a soccer match a few months back in Mexico, the mexicans booed and hissed the American anthem while it was being played and chanted "osama, osama." they really showed how friendly they where and the story was carried by ESPN. To top this off about 2 weeks ago, a story ran on fox news for of about 2 minutes in which it talked about how illegal mexican immigrants where hooking Arizona high school students on heroine. Gee, thanks. Then there is the kirkby TV with the mexicans again and there pals talking about bombing a jewish s**thole in new york. Question is, do we need these terrorist supporting drug dealers? The answer is, hell no, they add nothing but drugs and gangs like MS-13 to this society, they take away from law and order and demand everyone pucker up and smooch there dirty diseased carcasses.

6 I think we should once again offer all illegal aliens to come out of the wood work and register to be come legal citizens. After a reasonable time period, say 6 months, go around and collect up all these illegal aliens and ship their sorry butts back to the country of legal residency, (aka a legal resident.) And then fine those said countries a fee for the cost in labor and supplies to move these illegals back to their country. (Subtract the money from the aid we are sending them.)

7 My wife was made "redundant" from a company when she questioned the owners about mismatched social security numbers that the IRS had rejected, and then mentioned that the new numbers they gave were completely different, and obviously fakes. Never mind, they got reported to the INS anyway. I think that is a lot of what scares people about reporting it.

8 "For the Left - businesses that hire illegal labor should be punished with stiff fines." Bill - most of us on the right agree with that as well. At least I do.

9 Just so everyone knows where I'm coming from on this, let me give you some data: I live 20 miles downwind from Oak Ridge, TN. I generally find Mexicans and other Hispanics likable, and admire them for their down-to-earthiness, easygoing style, and solid work ethic. The local Hispanics fit in nicely with the community, and there are no ethnic enclaves here in East Tennessee. I also have no problems with other legal immigrants who seek only a better life. Despite all the urban legends and myths about Southerners, we're mostly very laid back and tolerant of others. There are Jews, Muslims, Indians, Catholics, blacks, whites, Hispanics, Serbians, Albanians, Russians, (my best friend is Russian), Koreans, Chinese, Japanse, Lebanese, Palestinians, Pakistanis and many others here, and we all tend to generally pay no attention to one another's doings. I shop at a local Pakistani market regularly and only occasionally get dirty or puzzled looks from the customers. That being said, I have no doubt that when something bad happens around here, it will be very bad, and it will probably be an illegal immigrant,(read: terrorist infiltrator), who does it, and it may cause many laid-back, tolerant Southerners to live up to those stereotypes. Anyone who has ever lived in the South knows that almost every adult male owns a gun and knows how to use it, and also that we will only stand for so much before it's time for a whuppin'. I've heard the good old boys talking at the firing range and the gun shops, and let me tell you, there are a lot of them, and they've about had all they can stand. Something tells me that this feeling isn't unique to the South, either. If something bad happens again, God help anyone who looks Arab, because I don't think the good old boys will hold back next time.

10 I'm from the south as well. I am also a former Marine, and a patriot of the US. I have been taught when letal force is acceptable to apply. Lethal force is risky when used in a sudden reactionary manner. Seems the wrong folks tend to get hurt, you know? I will use lethal force to protect my family and friends if needed. But I will leave using it to forward an agenda, to the professionals.

11 Mexico looks inviting to those south of its boarders, have you ever heard of what the Mexican boarder guards do to illegal boarder crossers on Mexicos southern boarder?

12 Illegal immigrants. Official euphemsim for Muslims.