lol @ me not replying cos I'm scared. Yeah, internet discussions really spook me.

I don't think it's wrong to be amused about a blatant thief being arrested, even though there are limits to that too, of course. But for the last time: being an illegal immigrant isn't the same thing as purposely stealing, raping, hurting or killing. There is no intent on damaging others, which isn't to say that it's legal and alright.

I'm confused at your logic sometimes; if it's about abortion etc. you think the law is fucked, if it's about illegal immigrants you say that it's breaking the law and it should be obeyed at all time. Either you let your christian views apply in both situations, or none. But not sometimes for this and sometimes for that. That's what I've been saying for the entire thread.

The jobs someone like me would do are pretty much out of reach for an illegal immigrant. Not the current one of course, but that's just for making tax-free student wages as long as I can. For the record, I work together with two ppl (Ugandese and Liberian) who came to Belgium as illegal immigrants, worked their way into legality (if not always through very legal means, mock marriages etc.) and work very hard in a job that is way beneath them in terms of education in their home countries. Their degrees aren't considered valid here. They made their lives here in a totally different culture (from the poorest to the most prosperous region of the world), made friends, married (for real, later on), had kids, bought homes. All legally. So you can see, there is no black/white, only grey. Technically speaking they shouldn't have been here in the first place, but they are and deserve it, in a way. I admire them for their courage and their upbeat personality, knowing full well that their lives have been anything but a carnival ride.

Anyhoo, in my previous point I explicitely mentioned 'intent' as a part of the deal. Yes, illegal immigrants take low-paid jobs scamming the IRS, but they don't come to a country with the intention of hurting the economy, you or anything. That's where they're different from a common thief or murderer. Don't you think most of them would prefer to be legally there, working legally for a better pay than those crappy low-wage jobs?

Man, how long is this discussion going to take...point is: illegal immigrants = not ok, but they're not villains. If you want to call them criminals, then fine, it's technically speaking correct. But when I think of a criminal I think of real crime, not stuff like this. It's a delicate matter and it should be treated as such, not by dividing things up in 'absolutely wrong' and 'absolutely right'. Because in that case almost every one of us would be a 'criminal'. Can you honestly say you never broke the law? course not.