Squatters, Our Illegal Pioneers

Timothy Lee:

But with an undocumented population in the millions, mass evictions are no more realistic today than they were in 1811. So should we follow our ancestors’ example and offer a path to legalization? Critics charge that this would reward their lawbreaking and undermine America’s values. But this gets things precisely backwards. America has always attracted ambitious people who hate being told what to do. The Pilgrims preferred to risk their lives taming a new continent than obey the Church of England. Our founders illegally dumped other peoples’ tea in Boston Harbor. When Congress banned alcohol in 1919, millions of Americans ignored the law and kept drinking. Every year, many of us celebrate our nation’s independence by lighting illegal fireworks.
Obviously, immigrants who commit violent crimes should be prosecuted and deported. But those who used fake paperwork to get jobs picking our strawberries, caring for our children, or doing award-winning journalism are no more a threat to public order than our pioneer ancestors were.
Recognition of squatters’ property claims allowed them to become full, productive members of society. Formal property titles let them borrow money and improve their farms, accelerating economic growth in the young republic.
Providing today’s undocumented immigrants with a path to legitimacy would have similar benefits.

I think that people opposed to illegal immigration should explain why we can only allow a set number of legal immigrants into the country.  Give out more papers, and there will be fewer illegal immigrants.  From what I've seen, immigrants, legal and illegal, work harder and do more good things for our communities than most native citizens.