I was discussing the issue of illegal immigration yesterday with some friends, and I realized something that you all probably knew. Mexico sucks on all fronts. It's politically corrupt & repressive, economically inefficient, provides inadequate services to citizens, etc. This means two things.

First off, don't blame most immigrants on coming to the United States, because if we were as screwed up as they were, I wouldn't blame you guys for running off to Canada. They are breaking the law, but remember there is a common clause that states that under extreme circumstances, to protect yourself you can break the law to suit the situation, like stealing a car to escape a potential murderer, or killing in self-defense. I don't see why so many people consider them criminals when they're really more like refugees.

Second, if we want to shut off a garden hose, we can't just try to block the flow of water. We need to turn off the hose. Fix Mexico's problems. How, I have no idea. They're a sovereign nation, and they've been especially critical of us on the illegal immigration front (they've also promoted propaganda campaigns aiming to increase emigration from Mexico). This is the biggest problem we have to face, and instead of throwing time and money on the border, we need to force Mexico to fix its problems, for both our sakes.