> The answer is to get people to citizenship as quickly as possible -
> either here in the States or back in their home countries (or in third
> countries). What is NOT the answer. What is NOT acceptable. What helps
> nobody but American capital is to pretend that illegal immigrants are
> just like citizens. They aren't. The law treats them differently and
> although immigration rarely bothers to do anything about illegal
> immigrants, when they do it's an awful process.
I think you're overestimating how much difference citizenship alone would make. While it would eliminate legal distinctions, those aren't the only ones that matter. In Western European countries where there is virtually no legal distinction between native citizens and those from the new EU accession states, exploitation of the latter is nonetheless widespread. The fact that they have more rights than "illegal immigrants" have isn't much use to them if they don't know what those rights are, or how to exercise them... or if they choose not to do so because they consider their present situation better than the alternatives available to them. There are more migrant workers in the last category than we might wish to acknowledge.
I can sort of see where you're coming from in this thread because obviously it does suit capitalism to have a pool of workers available who, for whatever reason, aren't going to be clamouring for better wages and conditions. But your solution seems remarkably paternalistic to me (and somewhat parallel to the notion that women's rights should be restricted in order to prevent men taking advantage of us). Tightening the borders and sending home those who manage to slip through them anyway doesn't only strike a blow against big capital, it also restricts the choices available to workers and if you consider that workers have the right to control their own labour - something which strikes me as a leftist fundamental - surely that must include the right to seek work where there are opportunities, exploitative or not?