There are certain things I don't understand about American immigration policy. It is primarily about positions on illegal immigration but of course that is connected to policies on legal immigration to some degree.
I understand that you can take different positions on immigration in general. Some disagreements are caused by fundamental philosophical differences and some by different judgments of the practical effects. Of course people are also personally affected in different ways.
Of course my understanding of the debate in the US is limited but perhaps you can help me with a few things.
I can't help getting the impression that there is what one could call a pro illegal immigration side although I suspect that hardly anyone would self-identify as such. I can understand being in favor of either more permissive or more restrictive immigration laws but I can't really understand tolerating illegal immigration. Is my understanding correct that there is a segment of American society whose preferred response to the issue of illegal immigration is looking the other way?
If you think the illegal immigrants are beneficial, why not make them legal? Of course this could be subject to various conditions.
If you think they are beneficial as illegal immigrants but they wouldn't be as legal residents, then why not establish an official status as some kind of second-class resident. If you consider that objectionable, are you ok with the status quo?
If you think illegal immigration has an overall negative effect, why isn't more being done to combat it? I understand that there are cultural reasons that make enforcement more difficult (e.g. Americans will not accept strong ID requirements.)
Do you consider the current illegal immigrants criminals?
Do you think they did nothing wrong?
Do you think they did something wrong but they deserve lenience because America became complicit by looking the other way?