GfS, the "dumb ideological agenda" you object to so strenuously happens to be what it's all about, whether you acknowledge it or not.

And as far as pulling their own weight is concerned, you simply don't know what kind of weight these people pull:    following the crops and slaving away in the fields, doing janitorial work (of the swabbing out toilets variety), mowing lawns and doing garden work—the women, if not working in the fields alongside the men - and the children - working as maids, cleaning houses, doing laundry, and such. But not "living in" maids. No such luxury.

And if not in the fields or as maids and laundresses, in the garment industry. A large number of such women died in a fire in a garment factory some years ago because the building failed to meet the local fire codes, and the women were locked in and when the fire started, they couldn't get out of the building. It made the national news. But nothing was ever done about it. These were women who were getting paid pennies for piecework and having to work extremely long shifts just to make a few dollars.

But who gives a shit? They were only illegal immigrants, right!??

But that problem has been partially taken care of these days. We've exported it. How long has it been since you've bought a piece of clothing that wasn't made in China, India, or Brazil?

"Dumb ideological agenda?" To you perhaps! But such callous disregard for the welfare of other human beings—whether undocumented or not—especially in the name of maximizing profits, tends to fill me with disgust.

Don Firth

P. S. Once again, I remind you that this thread is about U. S. Health Care Reform, not about illegal immigration.