Anyone who crosses the border illegally is a criminal
While I agree, where The Donald (does anyone refer to him as that anymore?) went wrong was asserting that all illegal immigrants are drug dealers and murderers. While some undoubtedly fall into that category, many are just looking for opportunity.
I knew of a guy who left Honduras, he was here illegally (but was trying to get paperwork in line to become legal). He rode on top of trains, walked, hitch hiked, swam... mostly at night because he also had to dodge the cartels and capture before getting here too. It wasn't easy. But he did it because he was broke and saw no opportunity where he was. To my knowledge he had no criminal background. Don't know what happened to him, but I imagine his story is not unique.
On the flip side, I have a neighbor who was born and raised in Mexico, and she came here legally and is now an American citizen. Her family wanted to come visit, and they wanted to do it legally. It took them 2 or 3 years... YEARS. to get approved for a 2 week visit. I don't know if she had any trouble obtaining citizenship or how long that took - I do know she served in our military though.
So yeah, the system is broken. Our immigration policies/enforcement are a damn dumpster fire. But I don't blame the poor and downtrodden for trying to get here. Hell, honestly I'd do it too if I had nothing else to lose. Who wouldn't? But IMO both Mexico and the US need better policy/procedures AND enforcement of said policies for dealing with this issue.
Right now, Trump is the only one who shows the slightest interest in tackling the problem head on (even if his approach is crude and not well thought out) and not simply giving lip service to kick the can further down the road. I'll give the guy credit for that, but if he wants to be taken serious he has to get his shit together and lay out some well thought out plans/ideas and stop shooting from the hip (or lip, as is the case here. lol )
