The illegal alien situation in the United States is reaching a boiling point. I know of absolutely nobody who has gone unaffected by this issue. The anger of many Americans, while justified, over our government's failure to enforce our southern border, is being directed at people of Hispanic heritage (or in some cases I could cite, who APPEAR to have Hispanic heritage). I am afraid that if we are not extremely careful on this issue, we could wind up repeating some of Germany's mistakes in the leadup to World War II.

While it would be nice to envision a scenario where those who are here illegally are dealt with according to the law, it's impractical to apply. The population of illegals is too numerous and too entrenched for that to be a practical reality. Even the most draconian scenario, a house to house search for illegals, would not be possible, as it would be impossible to identify the illegals among our population without trampling on the Constitutional rights of the citizens who are here legally. And it's especially sticky when many illegal households have one or more citizen residing within, as anyone born in the US is a citizen of this country.

Americans have made a horrendous mistake in blaming unemployment entirely on illegal immigration. Although it cannot be denied that this immigration has been a factor in unemployment and/or stagnant wages in certain sectors of employment, it is not the only factor, and, as the baby boomers edge closer to retirement, we need to prepare for the first time in United States history where, among citizens at least, the number of retired persons will actually outnumber those who are within the workforce. The only way we can possibly deal with this changing dynamic will be to allow immigrants easy access to work in the United States.

Many of these illegals have accumulated assets in the United States, and a number of them own their own homes. Asset forfeiture is not the answer, as it goes against every principle we have as a capitalist society. It would also be an unconscionable moral breach.

While I am loathe to take this comparison too far, as it is one that evokes extremely negative images, the best historical parallel I can find is in pre World War II Germany. Germany as a nation was going through the same depression that haunted America and all of Europe, and German citizens, eager for a scapegoat, embraced the rhetoric of a monster who offered up the Jewish people as a scapegoat. It is no less disturbing that some of our pundits are quick to offer up Mexican illegals as a scapegoat, and our only hope lies in the possibility that saner heads among us will realize this and not allow an outcome that further justifies the parallel.

We could operate on a plane of ideals and suggest that we remove all illegals in the US, but the simple fact is that, with 11 million of them among us, they are extremely unlikely to self identify. Giving them a reason to do so, while admittedly a less than perfect solution, would certainly give our government an opportunity to get an upper hand on a situation that is quickly spiralling out of control. If government cannot do this, it is frighteningly possible that many Americans will feel compelled to take matters into their own hands, and we'll see the return of a mindset that we need to avoid at all costs. While our policy makers do not have any easy answers to deal with this situation, we have a clear and sobering picture of an outcome we CANNOT allow. And we need to work to avoid that outcome at all costs.