I'm also thinking about the guys that got plane-flying lessons and then flew into the WTC's & Pentagon a couple years back...
Actualy, many of them had valid student Visas
It is really a tough call (and it is going to sound odd comming from a hardnose like myself)
There is the Fair option...Go through the Visa process and be here legaly to benifit from education and healthcare like every one else
There is the Just option...Alter the system so that those illegal imagrents with the greatest need get a valid Visa and the help they require
and the Humane option... Apply resources and Aid to the economy and infrastructure of the immagrant's nation of origin so that they wont be so desperate to come across the boarder to feed their familys.
The illegal immagrents are not sinister job-snipers who come over to steal our helthcare and labor work out of American pockets. Many of them are poor people who have come over (Often leaving their family behind) So that they can support those they love. Many of them live in crowded apartments sending most of the money own back to their family.
To deal with the problem within America, I feel that the boarders need to be closed and guarded for a relativly short period of time. Durring that time, a form of amnesty needs to be offered to those within the country. Those who are simple workers or benifits to the society (Those without violent criminal backgrounds or ties to Terrorist organisations) will be granted conditional Visas on the understanding that they will work toward full Visas or, if they desire, citizenship. They should also be taught a little about the way our laws and government works (Kind of a survey version of the full citizenship course)
Once the internal mess is cleaned up, we reopen the boarders and enforce the imigration laws already in place (Laws that are largely not enforced at present)
By this time we will hopefully be finished cleaning up the unfortunate mess in Iraq, so the money will be available to really lend a hand to Middle and South American nations who want to genuinely improve their economies and the standards of living for their people.
We need to start somewhere, If we want to build a global community that works together, this may be a good place to start.