George H. W. Bush And Ronald Reagan Debate On Immigration In 1980 | TIME

I'm glad you shared this...it offers a good perspective on how much things change over nearly forty years. Both of these men are voicing "common sense", "compassionate" ideas for how to deal with a complex problem...one I'd wager neither fully understood any better than any of their predecessors or successors; to include the current President. I've been to Mexico and Guatemala...I have lots of friends from places like Honduras. They're not great places to live. Most people coming here, legally or otherwise, are just trying to live a better life-earn more money than they ever could in a year back home, escape corruption, abusive governments, and horrific crime. Many are hard-working, skilled, principled people who know more about what the true value of family, faith, and freedom are than MANY "native-born" Americans. However, more than a few of them are exactly the sort of people who make these places dangerous, economically inviable, and politically unstable...and that's who we need to keep out. We simply cannot do that effectively without some system of security. We cannot succeed at that if a significant portion of the American people and government not only refuse to admit they exist...but work proactively to counteract any means of providing that security. Are there hateful, racist people who simply dislike those who look different or speak a different language? Absolutely...but they're outnumbered by those who through frustration and fear have grown tired of waiting for a "compromise", and simply want a "wall", and preferably a high one.