I know that you're in a brackish, polluted region, Cheri, but the nation as a whole is my point. Water right here in MI is excellent and abundant and I cannot tell you how many times a day I see someone toting a bottle of packaged water. I.E. Dasani is Detroit city water.

illegal immigrants CANNOT RECEIVE WELFARE because that takes a social security card and illegal immigrants do not want to risk being discovered.

other than wanting to deport criminals, I really do not have a problem with the Mexicans that live in our community.

I have girls come to clean my house, they do not speak English. I have never asked for their "papers." They are good women, honest and I trust them. They have cleaned my house for 3 years.

Other than criminals, whether legal or illegal, I am must more concerned with so many more issues.

Is there a difference between complaining and pointing out what is wrong?

I remember watching a psychologist talking about child rearing. He said to repeat what the child is saying. Ever notice how a child will repeat the same sentence over and over wanting to be heard? I wondered if that would work.

Sometimes a complainer just wants to be heard.

Politically, I am so ready to be heard and I am so ready for solutions. I would love to have Obama in office for 8 years.

It will be rough going at first, our country is in disarray. I am not sure much will be accomplished at first.

Congress is such a quagmire. It disturbs me that Republican representatives are filibustering on the key issues so that politically the Senate and House of Representatives with a Democratic "majority" can be labeled as a "do-nothing" legislature.

Just look at what happened with the bipartisan amendment Jim Webb tried to create. He had it going but GWB and McCain got into it and the Republican minority backed out. I feel sad for the troops, this is not support. But rhetoric will rule the day. "Democrats are weak on Iraq issues, they just want to cut and run."

Not true but it has been a propaganda statement we "hear" and some of the US believe.

So little of what is really happening in government is heard by us in the public.

So negative campaigning works because so few take the time to go to .org's. Many on the internet choose .com's and think if it is on a computer, it must be true.

Oh... don't get me started! I appear to be complaining on a political vent.

http://www.jsri.msu.edu/whatsnew/legitimacy/

This article is very good at revealing the humanity concerning this issue.

And this:

Hi AMN, I live in Kentucky. Our horse industry couldn't survive without immigrant labor. I have talked to people who own horse boarding businesses etc. They have said that they couldn't have their business without them. I think that a lot of businesses say the same thing. I have never heard anyone complain here about immigrants. Here they don't drain anything. Many people here say that if you want anything done right hire a Mexican. They can put a roof on your house in record time. Maybe if all of their positive and negative contributions were put on a spread sheet they would even out? I actually think that their contributions would lean to the positive side.

I just want to reiterate that I believe in legal immigration and I don't care about the nationality of immigrants. I am trying to contribute in the work toward making it easier to earn citizenship and enforcing the laws of the constitution.

I do believe that it is a responsibility for anyone who wants to live here.

Hi! I support Obama for the same reasons. I also believe that the only way that his visions can become reality is if we all stay involved to make them work. This idea that we elect leaders and send them to Washington and then hope everything works out gives us the government that we have today. We have to be involved at all levels working together to make things better. The working together is the biggest point.

Can't argue with that!

What concerns me is people getting all upset about heresay that they don't even experience and which might not even be true. This info is passed around to just get people distracted and busy with things so that the important issues are left to those in power. I love it when the whole issue is looked at carefully and real solutions are put in place not just "political bandaides" which actually make things worse or don't even really deal with the issues in there complexity.

I agree, legality is much better.

We, as a nation, have to keep reminding ourselves that our constitution is an ever-evolving, malleable set of guidelines for abundant life. It applies to all within our borders.

At the very least there needs to be a way of documenting these illegals.
We have to have some sort of official record and identification of people in the country.

I don't know if when they get caught at the border or elsewhere?
If they get finger printed & photographed before returned to their country?
In case they return again?

Who knows the best answer- it is such a complex problem.
Maybe Canada, USA & Mexico show all join together as one nation LOL

A complex problem that can have better solutions if it was just addressed honestly. Politicians do not want to tell the real truth because it could lose themselves votes with one group or another. I am seeing Obama telling the truth and not just what people want to hear, like with the gas tax issue. This issue is not global warming or energy policy. It is simply getting enough needed workers into this country. Workers that cannot be found among our native population. Sounds pretty simple to me. If the illegals didn't have jobs waiting for them when they got here they wouldn't be trying to sneak into the borders. It is like osmosis.