My grandfather moved here from Italy when he was 16. He did not speak a word of English, but he did have the desire to make a better life for himself.

He came here legally, got a job, learned English, and became an American.

Sounds simple, right? Of course it's not. Nothing worth having is ever 'simple'. You've got to have the struggle to truly appreciate it.

Well guess what, being an American isn't easy either. Half of the world hates us, and the other half wishes they were us. At least you would think that with so many people trying to GET in here, right? Can we really be all that bad?

If you're lucky enough to be BORN an American, at least you have that head start. But if you're not born here, and you want to become a part of this county, then you have to pay your dues - just like Grandpa did.

Grandpa didn't send his money back to Italy, he kept it here in the US. He followed the rules, and paid his taxes.

By the time Grandpa died, he had owned a house, several cars, had 5 children, dozens of grandchildren and had a Social Security card. He had lived the American dream. Not bad for a poor kid from Italy.

America was built by the hands of immigrants.

LEGAL immigrants.

We do welcome your tired, poor, and huddled masses - but please - just fill out the paperwork first.

PS - Don't get me started on the 'they do the work that Americans won't do". Perhaps if the scum bags who paid $5 a day to pick strawberries would actually PAY an honest wage for an honest day's work, you'd have more people willing to work those jobs. We need to go after those guys who take advange of desperate people and give them a quick kick in the you-know-whats.