>>So, let's see.
>>Jose Sanchez, who came here to get a job (that no one else wants) so that he could send money back to his family, is in a class with a serial killer?
>>Right.
>>Got it.

You're old enough to have been told that it's just as much a crime to steal $10 as to steal $1000. It's the concept of *lawbreaking* that's the same even if the magnitude differs.

Certainly I sympathize with Jose who wants to support his family. But if he comes illegally to the US, two things happen: first, his willingness to work for pennies denies a job for Carlos who immigrated legally, or Deshawn who wants to support his sister to go to night school. Second, the impetus to sort out the economy in Jose's homeland is postponed, to the delight of those enriching themselves from it.

The tragedy now is that every factory brought back from Mexico removes jobs over there and increases the pressure to sneak over the border. Laws of unintended consequence etc. IMHO the better way to prevent illegal immigration is to make it just as financially viable and socially far preferable to stay at home. The carrot may work better than the stick. JMHO.