Mexicans have been crossing the borders (illegally) for years.

It seems to me this became an issue when the violence started .... and that is directly aligned with the big $money$ to be made with drug smuggling ... when the general populace of the U.S. developed a taste for illegal drugs .... demand grew and so did the profits to be made in importing of drugs, and with those profits came violence.

I say the violence in marketing drugs is the real issue, not illegal immigrants.

biLL