What makes me unhappy and uncertain in how I should feel about illegal immigrants is that 1st, each country's border is man-made and 2nd, as troll said above, they are looking for work, in other words they are trying either to improve their family's lives or in some cases, simply survive. Just being born in one part of the world and not another should not mean that it determines for all time one's fate. The notion that we all have the means and the right to choose our own place is to me an American trait I'm fond of. The cleaning woman can become a bank president, the 60 year old can attend university and become a teacher...

As for the Aztecs and Mayan peoples, troll, I don't think we need go back that far. What about Texas, California, Arizona, Nevada and Utah as well as parts of New Mexico, Colorado and Wyoming? Full of Mexicans. For a very good reason: they were all part of Mexico.

And as for not paying taxes- I know several people who first came in illegally and now are citizens and who are definitely paying taxes. (In at least one case, he had to return to Mexico and apply for reentry, which was granted, I think, on the basis of his skills.)