[Twoller]

That's great and we commend the attitude of that state official.

But we really need to remove completely the notion of "self-deportation" as a desired goal of the anti-illegal movement.

Again, the issue is one of border control and border control means controlling illegal traffic in both directions across the border. No illegal immigrant should ever imagine they can just come or go any time they feel like it. Being able to leave as an illegal any time they feel like is part of the appeal of being an illegal in the US. Amnesty for anti-illegals should mean the ability to leave under supervision without prosecution. Otherwise illegals should assume they are just as liable for prosecution for trying to cross our borders illegally on the way out as they are on the way in.

Notice that this state official is being a little narrow minded. He isn't looking at the big picture, he's just wrapped up in Alabama, which is a hazardous posture for this problem, which is an international problem. Really, when he says Alabama's illegals are "self-deporting", they aren't really "self-deporting" at all. They're just leaving Alabama for some other more friendly state, like California. Alabama doesn't have any international borders and so for a state official to brag about it's illegals "self-deporting" is a little too grand.

We commend Alabama's successes in getting rid of their illegals, but hope they keep a national perspective on this, at least. And even better, an international one. That's what it is at its roots, an international problem.