I think the comparison with Japanese internment camps is a poor one. I'm not saying that this situation is being handled well, it obviously isn't. But people have the choice NOT to come across the border illegally and in fact they often have to try pretty hard to do so. They know it is illegal and what the potential consequences are. The Japanese detained in this country during WWII were citizens or legal residents and had done nothing illegal. As long as we live in a world of nation states and have a welfare state, controlling who comes across the border is a must for a variety of reasons. Even legal immigration is a long and difficult process. It needs to be improved and I'm all for letting in as many people that want to come provided a reasonable background check can be done and eligibility for taxpayer funded welfare benefits at all levels is delayed.

It's easy to say "just figure out who needs that help and where they can stay" but that's easier said than done with hundreds of thousands of people crossing the border illegally each year (with a peak of 1.64 million in 2000). They can't even handle the volume of people going the legal route with any expediency. It's going to take a massive increase in resources to deal with this in a reasonable way and there is no simple fix.

Also, this is not an ethnic issue. It's the fact that there are a lot of poorly run countries south of the U.S. and conditions are economically not that great. You'll notice that there aren't a lot of Canadians trying to cross the border illegally to live in the U.S. It has nothing to do with the fact that most are white, it's just that economically conditions are much better there than places like Mexico and most of South America. A lot of Hispanics are in detention facilities because a lot of Hispanics cross the border illegally. This isn't because they are Hispanic unless you are trying to make the point that only Hispanics cross the border illegally or only Hispanics have a poor economy. The U.S. isn't detaining illegal border crossers because they are Hispanic.

It's also important to note that in the case of those being deported, the length of time it takes to process the deportation is largely dependent on the country from which they came and the policies of those countries. And while many, most or even the vast majority coming across the border may otherwise be wonderful law abiding people, it certainly isn't the case ALL of them are. In any group of hundreds of thousands or a million people, regardless of ethnicity or country of origin, you are going to have a not insignificant number of thiefs, murderers, rapists and other criminals among the law abiding.

I agree a better job needs to be done. The immigration system has needed a massive overhall for a long, long time. I just don't think there is a quick and easy fix to deal with the volume of people crossing the border illegally.