Controversy and Confusion

So, anyone who watches the news, reads a paper, or reads online news sources knows about immigration. What I don't know is...what the right answer is. The idea is that being in the United States illegally would become a felony crime. People are protesting, even those who are in this country legally are protesting. I just feel torn. On one hand is the legal side of things...people are not allowed to freely immigrate into the US, although many do. I think I heard as many as 11 million people in the US are here illegally. Anyway, from the legal side it seems plain as day to me...you're here illegally, you should have to face consequences. I mean, we punish all illegal crimes, why should this be any different? On the other hand is the moral side of things. I mean, what would the world be like without borders? What if people could enter and leave any country freely? I just wonder if the world shouldn't be more "open". Of course, we're now post-9/11 and is just isn't safe for the US to allow people to come and go as they please...there are too many out there willing and waiting to hurt us.

I guess that's what it comes down to, the safety of our country and if that is what I focus on, it makes the legal side of things make sense. I wonder how we all got ourselves into this mess to begin with...