Dora?!?!?!

I made a comment yesterday regarding Dora the Explorer's status in the United States and received two poignant comments. Before continuing, I must say that I've never viewed an entire episode of Dora since I don't have cable. My brother's children love the show and others do, too. I've heard nothing but positive about the characters and the lessons they teach. Now, for the questions - does the show discuss the children's status? Are the kids' parents paying off a coyote or was the second comment a humorous one? I'm asking, maybe because I'm an idiot but because Dora's status is the third rail of American politics this year. Both the right and the left are pressing immigration and the borders as 'the' issue to settle. Over health care, the rising standard of living, the increasing gap between the very wealthy and the rest of the nation, the status and reasoning for invading Iraq (which was made public by the U.S.' strongest ally, Australia, in which a minister said those three famous letters), education or the crushing national debt. I believe that we're only addressing immigration now because the flames of another terrorist attack have been fanned by people both here and abroad. Are we terrified of another attack or from people coming to mow our lawns? Pointed humor aside, illegal immigration is an elephant in the room. Decisions do need to be made and many of them must be unpopular to large minorities if serious progress is to be made. Some of the issues and ideas are:

Building a wall. Like Berlin or Korea. China? The first two walls worked, only because they were designed to keep the people in. The third apparently failed in trying to keep others out.

Deportation. Is this actually feasible and/or worth it to taxpayers?

Jobs. I believe it's a rouse on the right that illegal aliens steal jobs from American citizens. As I've said before, I've never seen a line of unemployed whites lining up in the fields to take the farm labor positions that are filled every single harvest season. Another argument is that blacks are denied jobs taken by illegal aliens. Is this true? I'm not sure but firstly, where illegal immigration is greatest, black populations are relatively small - California's Central Valley, for example. Texas. Rural areas dependent on agriculture. This isn't the 1910s and we're not talking sharecropping here.

The label "illegals". I've always believed that there's no such thing as an "illegal" person and I personally find the term "illegals" offensive. Are these people breaking the law? Yes. Does that mean we change the name of people who always speed? Cheat? Lie? Sit in theL White House? And as for calling illegal aliens "unAmerican", let's review our geography and ask ourselves "on which continent is Mexico, the United States and Canada located?"

Fines and/or fees. The approximately twelve million people here illegally do need to face some sort of legal consequence. However, should this consequence be a punishment?

Tax drains. Many claim that illegal aliens drain the economy. True, but they also contribute to the economy in ways we don't want to accept. Those that work pay into Social Security and can not claim it. I want to know the rough estimate of unpaid taxes by American employers and businesses who hire illegal aliens. Let's not just punish the employee, here.

The unraveling of the social fabric. Does illegal immigration enrich or threaten our views of cultural diversity? Ethnic variance? What is "American culture" and what threats does illegal immigration pose?

Curious to hear others' thoughts as my mind is truly not made up on this topic.