Reply #1: Is it just me

[ihavenobias]

or does this piece repeatedly mix "illegal immigrants"/undocumented workers with (legal) immigrants? If so, it's a dishonest tactic (and one I've generally seen used only by conservatives).

As I've written before, I agree there is plenty of racism and xenophobia fueling the debate on the right. But I also believe that flooding the market with undocumented workers to be exploited with slave wages, no benefits and questionable working conditions (which creates a de facto maximum wage for low skill positions) *is* a real problem.

The answer is not to build some giant wall or deportation. The answer is to crack down on employers looking to exploit ALL workers to increase their profits. If we do that (attack the demand) the supply will take care of itself, just as it did prior to Reagan when there was less than 2 million undocumented workers compared to over 12 million or so today.

And if we do crack down on employers and manage to find ourselves with a labor shortage, the answer is simple: allow more immigrants to become US citizens.