While immigrants do send money back to their countries, they also spend a lot of money too. They eat, drive cars, buy tv's, stereos, go to the movies, buy clothes, etc.... Not only that but along with money, they also send tv's, microwaves, stereos, clothes, etc.. to their countries. Where dod you think they're buying all that, Mexico, Honduras?
There was actually a study done not so long a go that foudn that illegals profit the state/country far more than they allegedly "cost" i nterms of dollars (don't have a link to post).
Being a product of illegal immigrants (who are both now citizens btw) I cannot help but being a little biased about my thoughts on this subject. I think that we do need to do something about immigration, the resources here will only stretch so far, but I am not sure what. People like Y lifters family and most of your families that came here "legally" did so because the country needed cheap labor to exploit and were pretty much asking anybody to come, not because they went through this long process of trying to qualify.
I'll totally agree that "illegals" who commit crimes in the US should be sent back, and the same with anyone that leaches off the welfare system. But to say that they are all criminals ("illegal" immigrant aside) and are all leaches is ignorant.
My dad supported a family of six on a waiters salary and never received one welfare check in his life. I went to college on student loans, affirmitive action didn't do shit for me. Do my parents send money to Mexico? Sure, but they also own cars, a house and do the regular spending that everyone here does. Is it funny or sad when a family of ignorant, uneducated but hardworking wetbacks surpasses people that have been here for generations sitting on their ass and whining about not having the same chances as everyone else?
At one time Italians, Irish, Scottish, Eatern Europeans, etc.. where all despised by "Americans" too becasue these immigrants were poor, uneducated, didn't speak English and brought a high crime rate.