You ought to realize that the U.S. consists of a great many people of Mexican and Latin American heritage, only a small number of whom are present in the country \"illegally.\"
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There are far more European-Americans populating the Southwest who cannot trace their origins to legal immigration than there are Mexican-Americans. ?
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Among the white illegal aliens are the descendants of all of those who moved to Texas from the U.S. and Europe before 1836 and to California before 1846 without the consent and (in the case of Texas) contrary to the law. ?
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In fact, prior to the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, extorted from the Mexican government following the invasion of Mexico by the U.S. without cause, it could be argued that all of the Americans from the coast over to the Rio Grande were illegal aliens.
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The case could be made that the entire country was founded by unwelcome immigrants-- though it was sustained to a great measure by slave labor, the labor of those who were immigrants against their will.[/b]
