I'm going to expand on this a bit, because I can see people foaming at the mouth and shaking fists at your "intolerance".
I've lived in California most of my life. Went to school with farmworkers' children, played with them, had crushes on them, learned to love the culture, food and music of Mexico (primarily Mexicans at that time, although now Central Americans are, I believe, a large percentage of illegal immigrants). There was never a question of bigotry, of intolerance, and the only high school rivalries I ever saw were between high schools competing on the football field.
Fast forward to the Reagan years. Illegal immigration had become a problem. The 405 Fwy. outside of San Diego had huge, blinking signs... "Warning!! Watch for Pedestrians on the Freeway!!" There were 2 million illegals in the US at that time, and Reagan wanted to give amnesty, promising to strengthen the border to stave off the flood. I was, "Oh hell yes!! Amnesty all the way!" I thought it a swell idea... until the words "amnesty" reached Mexico and that 2 million immigrants swelled to 5 million almost overnight.
California communities suddenly saw huge groups of migrants gathering outside shopping malls, parking lots, schools. Most were just looking for work, but it was unnerving when parents sent their kids past groups of 30-40 or more men just to get to school. Construction jobs dried up, because migrants did the work cheaper. Restaurant jobs, landscaping, service industry, janitorial services, retail, just about every entry level job in the community was filled by migrants, leaving the kids of citizens no place to find that first job, that first apprenticeship, that introduction into earning a living. Exploitation of immigrants was rampant; no benefits, cash-under-the-table below minimum wages. People moved away, seeking work. Communities withered and decayed, as home ownership suburbs turned into basically slums with distant landlords.
Fast forward to today. Now we have over 20 million undocumented migrants (forget the 12 million that they've been using for the past 20 years, at the same time they confess that the number is growing by an average of 1.5 million per year). Over 70 hospitals in California alone have closed down directly attributed to the exorbitant expense of caring for undocumented pregnant women and their babies. Welfare costs have skyrocketed, because migrants now come into the country with maps and directions on how to sign up for ADC benefits, and know in advance that California welfare & medical facilities are not allowed to ascertain legal status before handing over benefits and services.
Identity theft is unprecedented, with millions of stolen social security and green card numbers used by undocumented workers, which totally screws the people who legitimately own those stolen numbers, and of course no income tax is ever paid by those holding stolen numbers. These cards, forged birth records, etc., are sold by the tens of thousands out of garages and car trunks, brazenly parked in the open. When those operations were closed down by authorities in LA, there was a massive protest at city hall some years back demanding that the dealers of stolen SS/green cards and other forged documents be released and allowed to continue providing this "necessary service" to those who needed it... i.e., illegal immigrants.
This has become an absolute crisis in California... an economic crisis, an exploitation crisis, a humanitarian crisis, a medical care crisis and a crisis for citizens whose lives have been irreparably damaged by sometimes dozens of illegals using their social security/green card numbers.
I realize it's simple for those around the country who have never been personally affected by illegal immigration to shrug and say, "So what? They are nice people who just want to work. What's the problem?"
The problem is that every other country on the planet has a right to control immigration based upon that country's ability to absorb a population, and to select a population that can contribute to society without first draining it. The USA is being drained, drained by nice people, good people, people who just want a better life, but people who nevertheless the USA cannot economically absorb without limit.
I know this is long, so I'll stop. But what I've written about barely scratches the surface of this terribly complex situation, a situation that a half-dozen administrations have caused because of political pressure for cheap labor by the corporate wallets that get them elected, and voter coercion by ever-increasing numbers of Hispanic groups.
So hell no, the US should not have open borders, and the government should be forced to do what it is constitutionally charged to do... protect and secure those borders in accordance with US law.
