Yes, the variety of cultures and ideas, etc has made America great. That being said, keep them coming. Completely stopping immigration is harmful and un-american.
I am not a racist or a "lou dobbs" freak, my point is that immigration needs to be done in a systematic, controlled way. We can't allow people to just walk in as they please. It's harmful to our economy, to the average American worker and truly is a security threat. This type of immigration does not help America because the people who come are only looking to fill their pockets, not take part in the American dream (if you can stand my idealism)
I'm also offended by this idea some illegals have that they are "owed" something or have a "right" to be here. They don't.
If American big business/globalization have economically harmed people who are already impoverished, I can't help but think that coming to America will only perpetuate the problems. America does not have a gift-bag waiting for these people and America's citizens are becoming more and more impatient with these people. Further, if farming is no longer paying off, are there not other occupations or do you think these people are incapable of doing anything else? Nothing has been done to stop the root of the problem, which is why are they so poor in the first place? I'm not a big fan of immigration to the US being used as a band-aid for a larger problem. If anything, the evidence of the problem, the people, these peasants that you speak of, have been diffused across a large continent. How can you address the problem when the human face of it has disappeared? How about these people fix their problems, to include the corrupt government of Mexico which agrees to these deals, instead of running away from them.