In the GOP debates in New Hampshire, Mitt Romney earned my vote. It was down to him and Giuliani - both would make great Presidents - but Romney was tougher on the illegal immigrants already here:
Homeland Security says that 11.6 million came here since 1980. Of that, 6 million came during Clinton, or 750,000 per year, and 3 million came during Bush, or 420,000 per year - so Bush deserves credit for slowing the rate significantly.
However, we don’t want to just slow the increase, we want to bring the number of illegal immigrants here down to zero.
Imagine that - an America where everyone is here legally!
There are three keys to reduce the number of illegal immigrants:
1. Secure the border. Use a double fence, increase electronic surveillance and keep the National Guard there until the situation gets under control.
2. Enforce our laws. This means you punish sanctuary cities, increase jail capacity, implement tamper-proof ID cards, require states to tell ICE when they have illegals in custody, end anchor babies and punish employers big time for employing illegal immigrants.
3. Encourage self-deportation. Illegal immigrants snuck in here over several years and they can sneak out over several years. If law & order is restored (steps 1 & 2), you will see much self-deportation. Deport them when they commit crimes, or are otherwise discovered, but no "round-ups" of illegals - no need to waste taxpayer money on non-citizens.
Here are the benefits of this approach:
Crime will drop. Not only in border states but also in immigrant communities nationwide - which legal immigrants will appreciate. As much as 30% of our prison population are non-citizens. If illegal immigration is stopped, legal immigration processes, which screen for criminal backgrounds (and diseases), will keep most criminals out of the country.
Increased faith in government. A big chunk of law abiding folks in America were outraged at last summer’s “shamnesty” bill (McCain-Kennedy). We were stunned that many of our GOP leaders would attempt to shove such a disastrous piece of legislation down our throat. (btw…if McCain is doing so poorly at his current job, why does he think he deserves a promotion? I’m just asking :-). A President that ends illegal immigration will restore some of that lost faith.
Infrastructure costs will drop. The U.S. will spend less money on hospitals, schools, law enforcement, prisons, jails, food stamps, health care, etc… For example, I’ve read that some hospitals have closed because they can’t afford to keep providing services to people that can’t pay. After illegal immigration ends, those hospitals will be able to re-open to improve health care for U.S. citizens - very cool.
Greater accountability. A year ago, an illegal immigrant crashed into the daughter of a friend of mine. The illegal had no license, no insurance and no assets. The police had a difficult time getting his real name. My friend’s daughter is now paralyzed from the waist down. That story is repeated over and over again nationwide, sometimes the victims die. Ending illegal immigration means that people you interact with in your daily lives are accountable for their actions - isn’t that how it should be?
Export American Values. One advantage of illegal immigrants self-deporting back home is they’ll improve their home country. Despite “living in the shadows”, illegal immigrants have learned a few things about America they can share when they return. These include our stronger emphasis on education, better mastery of English - the international language of success, a better understanding of how democracies work, higher expectations regarding civil and women’s rights. As citizens of their home countries, they’ll have a lot more credibility than an American spreading good will. Who knows - maybe they’ll lead massive protests against their government 
In addition, ending illegal immigration hurts Democrats politically. Of course, there will be less voter fraud once illegal immigrants leave, but that’s just the beginning. Many election advantages for Democrats depend on people feeling bad about America.
Some advantages for Democrats go away when illegals go away.
I’ll cover this more in an upcoming blog.