You know…that's an interesting take on it. I live in an area saturated with Mexicans – legal or not, who knows. I've had very strong mixed feelings – there are many who are really hard workers, and they just want to get ahead. If I have any bone of contention with them, it's that I suspect that they don't pay their full share of taxes – they manage to slip through the cracks. On the other hand, there are those who just want to sponge off the system and/or are criminals, flat out. I wouldn't care if the latter were legal – we don't want them.

It's obvious to me that with the skill requirements that have been established for legal immigration, that most of those we need for ag work wouldn't be considered. But we need them – maybe more even that those who do more skilled work. And why should they be denied citizenship just because they lack education? They strive for education for their children – they know better than most that education is essential.

So I like your evaluation – it should be more on what they want. We can deal with what they know later. It may take a couple of generations, but it will come. It really is more important that they want to be _American_ – with all that entails.