1 - the argument that illigal immigrants "do the work no one else wants" is simply false. supply and demand says that the bigger the supply of labor the less that labor is worth, so having millions of people added to the labor pool undermines the value of everyone in that labor pools labor, period.

2 - If there wasn't cheap immigrant labor available to work the fields, slaughterhouses, resteraunts, janitorial positions, etc those jobs would not simply dissapear into thin air. The employers would be forced to raise wages and improve working conditions to attract local workers and the living conditions of poor and working class americans would be dramatically improved. That's a fact, you don't have to like it but you can't ignore it. We live in a market-based economy, you can't just wish the market away or pretend it doesn't exist. This is a function of capitalism. If you like capitalism you have to accept it.

3- patterns of seasonal migration from mexico through the southwest pre-date the mexican-american war and go back to the time when the southwest was part of mexico. thinking those patterns can be stopped by building a wall is just stupid. The actual result of the tightening of border control has been to INCREASE the number of illegal immigrants in the US. Since the costs and erisks of entry are so much higher it takes a longer stay to make it worthwhile, so now - instead of coming and working for a year and then going home - people from mexico and elsewhere come, find a job, and stay. and then invite their friends and relatives to come too. So border control has actually made the situation worse and is the real reason why the illegal population has gotten so incredibly big in the last ten years.

4 - The people who gain the most in a climate of mass illegal immigration are the owners of the business that violate the law & exploit and abuse people seeking a better life. That's why the government hasn't - and probably won't - take serious action to resolve the issue. Illegal immigration is good for business and bad for working class people, and the government is far more interested in protecting the interests of business then they are of protecting poor people of any nationality. By framing the issue as "immigrant rights" wealthy people co-opt leftist rhetoric to protect a fundamentally right-wing agenda that enriches a minority at the expense of the majority. The actual "illegals" are being used and manipulated as pawns.

4 - The people who suffer the most are the immigrants who spend decades living in fear and uncertainty working obscene hours in obscene conditions. The other big losers are poor americans, especially african americans (who used to perform the low-wage jobs but are now suffering from chronic unemployment).

5 - so this IS an issue of class and race, it's just that most of the so-called radicals have their analysis completely backwards. Fighting for the rights of poor people and supporting immigrants wouldn't mean supporting continued mass immigration through amnesty programs, it would mean putting in a system where seasonal migration is allowed and regulated and where businesses that hire illegal immigrants face MUCH stiffer penalties. Like maybe all their assets are seized and sold at auction. That would dry up the demand for illegal labor in about 10 seconds flat - and with no jobs to attract them the people who are coming here would stay at home and contribute their ingenuity, intelligence, and work ethics to build up their local economies. And maybe even organize to deal with the corrupt governments that make things so bad in their home countries.

Excellent points Fred