Why "Immigration Reform" Is Such a Joke

Of all the socioeconomic and political issues with which America is faced, the least contentious should be immigration, or at least the appropriate response to those who intentionally  enter and stay in the country without  obtaining legal clearance to do so.  As of 2011,  there were approximately 11.5 million illegal aliens in the U.S. Yet they and their advocates respond to those who want them deported with the excuse that many of them have been in the country a long time and have established roots in their community  and / or that they want a better life for their children  

The fact remains that these people are gate crashers regardless of how long they've been in the U.S. Want a better future for their children? Well, why we don't just throw open the borders and let every would be immigrant and all their children in too. American citizens and legal residents are already struggling to find and keep jobs. Let's make it even harder on them by having an unregulated tidal wave of aliens who will also compete for these jobs and resources and depress wages even further than the present swarm of illegals already in the U.S. have already done.

What's particularly galling is that under  the  proposed "path to citizenship", illegals will in effect be REWARDED for cutting ahead of LEGAL immigrants (many of whom also wanted a better life for their children) who played by the rules by applying for visas while still in their native countries and waiting years before being approved, then on arrival in America abiding by the laws of the land and waiting still more years for citizenship. Were they fools for going through all this when all they had to do was sneak into the country, bide their time, and eventually be granted naturalization?

BTW this is not the first time illegals (not "undocumented aliens") have been given a free pass aka "amnesty".  It was also done in 1986.  That act sent a message and set a bad precedent such that the U.S. is now flooded with more of these people who've been waiting for the dice to come up seven again. It looks as though their lucky day is at hand.

When will we ever learn?