In 1969 it was estimated by http://immigration.procon.org/ that our illegal immigrant population in the USA was approximately 540,000 in a nation of just over 200 million peoples, which works out to a percentage of about .27% of illegal immigrants in our nation. Fast forward to 2011 and that estimate of illegal immigrants had grown to a staggering 11,500,000 in a nation of about 312 million peoples, which is a percentage of 3.69% illegal immigrants within our borders. This means in those 42 ensuring years that our total population in America increased about 54% but our illegal immigration population increased a staggering 2000%. This could only have come about by empowered interests in our nation aiding and abetting this massive increase in illegal immigration.
The Pew Hispanic Center estimates that in 2006 that 57% of illegal immigrants in America originated from Mexico, with an additional 24% from other Latin and Central American countries for a total of 81% of immigrants coming from primarily Spanish speaking countries that reside within close proximity to the United States. While the USA is obviously a much desired nation for immigrants, whether illegal or legal, in order to maintain residency here, one must have some means of income or support. Part of that support comes from our welfare society that has been created and expanded over the last few decades, and part of that income comes from performing jobs that are low-skilled, labor-intensive, have few language barriers, and are prevalent.
Illegal immigrants are heavily employed in America as cooks, fast food employees, construction labor, housekeeping, gardening, janitorial duties, painting, and agricultural work. In any business that is labor-intensive, the cost of the labor is of utmost importance to the owners of that business, whereas the makeup of the peoples performing that work is of little or no importance. In fact, owners and managers of fast food restaurants like to pride themselves on their openness in hiring unskilled labor and in their increasing of diversity within the workplace. The real answer, however, is that they like cheap, exploitable labor, and what better way to do so, than to take advantage of peoples that are both illegal and unable to speak or write English well.
America has actually gone back in time to bring back conditions similar to our antebellum days, changed a few things here and there to give it a more palatable taste, and gone about business as usual. Ask yourself this question, how is possible for not only the sheer numbers of illegal immigrants to get across our border, but for them to find shelter, employment, food, health, transportation, and the means not only to survive, but also to be able to through their sweat-labor, dedication, and thriftiness, to send back home funds to their impoverished brethren.
America is quick to point out success stories of illegal immigrants, those that have gone on to apply and get granted citizenship or to receive their green card, become entrepreneurs in their own right, become bi-lingual, and to proudly wave the American flag, but all of these stories are built around a familiar foundation. That foundation is that these immigrants are too often, exploited, abused, mistreated, ostracized, and often live lives that aren't even worthy of second-class standards. Their masters, however, sip their proverbial mint juleps, and enjoy their modern-day plantations built upon the backs of those that only wish for the opportunity to straighten them.