>The system needs reform, but the likely direction it will go
>is towards allowing large numbers of people in legally,
>pending minimal checks for criminal backgrounds and such. It
>worked wonders for us a century ago, even over the protests of
>people who thought "inferior" Irish, Polish, Jewish, Italian,
>etc. immigrants would ruin their country.

To play devil's advocate for a moment, one important difference between today's situation and that of 100 years ago is the level of entitlements available to the poor. In 1900, letting in a ton of people didn't "cost" as much. Immigrants were allowed to live in relative squalor in ethnic ghettos, providing cheap labor without receiving much in return. Contrast that with today. Our system of entitlements relies on a certain distribution of incomes, with those at the top funding programs that benefit those at the bottom. If the country becomes too "bottom heavy" then the current system will eventually become impossible to sustain.