Has Hell Frozen Over?

Today I found myself agreeing with Mayor Daley of Chicago. It was surreal.
Here's how it happened. I was listening to radio news while coming home from driving my very cute granddaughters to school. The guys were discussing the May Day immigration rallies. Mr. Mayor was quoted as he "rallied the rally" as saying, "Chicago was built by immigrants. Chicago loves immigrants!" (BTW, I had to paraphrase, as the coffee hadn't kicked in. I gotta wonder why I was driving!)
Well, of COURSE Chicago was built by immigrants. No one questions that. My own family has roots in Lithuania, England, Germany, Norway, and a host of other European countries. All of those countries have many, many representatives in the Windy City. Of COURSE Chicago loves immigrants; immigrants run the businesses, pay the taxes, visit the attractions, buy the products, etc, etc. Descendants of immigrants continue the tradition.
I don't think anyone argues with the love or high regard held by Americans for immigrants. Maybe those who we call Native Americans might not be too happy with immigration, but, for the most part, most Americans realize the need for infusions of "new blood." Most of us are proud to live in a country that is popular for immigration.
What most of us DON'T like is ILLEGAL immigration. There is a difference between the way Vytautas Dovidaitis (my great-grandfather) came to this country and many of the immigrants whose "plight" concerns us these days. (By the way, "Dovidaitis" bothered spell-check. One of the alternatives offered is "Natividad's." Hmm...) The difference is that Great-Grandpa entered LEGALLY. (And don't get me started on what he didn't expect to be given when he arrived!)
Look at it this way, and I acknowledge it might be a bad analogy.
Say you own a company, a successful company that hires often and where many people want to work. Along comes John, applying for a job. During a background check, you learn that John was convicted a while back for stealing from your very own company. Do you hire John? I don't think so.
Illegal immigrants have already committed a crime. Moving them through the immigration process so we can be "fair" and "inviting" is a slap in the face to Bill, John's younger brother, who never stole from the company and even followed all the rules your company set up for new hiring. How about moving some of the "Bills" to the head of the line, so we can be "fair," "inviting" and "SMART?"