I agree with ya on the rewarded part, I hate that. Just can't hate people just for looking for a better life. The booing Miss America part just shows that no country has yet cornered the market on stupidity.
As far as the illegal alien problem is concerned there are two possible solutions that I can see. Either 1) get a grip on the borders or 2) let America devolve into a 3rd world country. Seriously, when there is no benefit to coming here nobody will. I think that process started when NAFTA was signed and American companies kept their offices here but began closing up manufacturing plants and sent the jobs elsewhere.
Last thought on the Irish (and I'm 50% Irish). Many people don't realize that a large percentage of the Irish population in America arrived illegally through Canada. (Quote is from
http://library.thinkquest.org/20619/Irish.html)
"The Act of Union of 1803 incorporated the island (Ireland) into British polity, but was useless in easing the difficult situation of the people. With an overly large population as the result of the Napoleanic Wars, the Irish soon became impoverished. And with the religious prejudice of Protestant Masters to the Catholic Irish, plus political subordination, many had no alternative by to emigrate to the United States for relief. Between 1820 and 1860, the Irish were never less than a third of all immigrants. The British Passenger Acts attempted to deflect the immigration from the British Isles to Canada instead of the U.S., making the fare a cheap 15 shilling compared to the 4 or 5 pound fare to New York. Many Irish soon found it convenient to take the affordable trip to Canada, where they could buy cheap fares to the U.S., or cheaper yet, they could walk across the border."