As student in the 60s and 70s, I took off at least one quarter every year to work and supplement my income. Mostly, I worked in construction, and most of my workmates were also college students. We took the lowest paying jobs, as helpers and casuals, non-union, (Florida is a right-to-work state, unions never had a stranglehold here) but we made good money and learned a lot, not to mention kept in shape and had a great time. It was rare to see a hard hat without a pony tail poking out behind the straps. Much of South Florida's housing during the building boom was built by hippies and African-Americans..

The construction sites I see now are populated mostly by Latins (probably illegals), and the skilled trades are taken over by other foreigners (a great many of them are Irish). I just cannot accept the idea that foreigners do the jobs no one else wants. They just are willing to accept the wages no one else will take. Sure, costs are kept down and the consumer benefits, whether it be construction, domestic, industrial or agricultural work, but the economic benefits are either shipped overseas or dispersed among a transient population with little long-term stake in the community. We pay as a society for the lower prices these workers make possible, and I'm willing to bet we pay more in hidden costs than we get back from cheap produce. The costs we pay for supporting these immigrant populations are a direct subsidy to the firms that hire them and they are the only ones who benefit financially in the long run.

I agree that many attempts to derail regulation of immigration are the result of misguided liberal do-gooder politics, but the cause of this problem originates directly with those who hire them. Stiff enforcement of laws against hiring illegals will make the problem go away. It's that simple. Every other strategy; controls, fences, patrols, etc., are just a smokescreen to keep illegals too scared to cause trouble, and the working class victims of illegal hiring fooled into thinking their politicians are doing something.