"Many immigrants who enter lawfully become illegal. Many immigrants who were once unlawfully present can become legal.

In some cases the only difference between an unlawfully present immigrant and a legal one - of similar age, qualifications and intent - is an unfortunate timing of events or an opportunity that came too late."

^If you honestly believe a missed court date or lost paperwork are the only barriers to maintaining legal status, then you truly have an extraordinarily narrow and superficial idea of how immigration works in the US.

You can start by acknowledging the systemic barriers/discrimination against immigrants that prevent/delay them from participating in employment opportunities that they are supposed to be able to compete for, by law. Then start thinking about how such discrimination must sabotage an immigration process which is, for the most part, extremely time-dependent. And for immigrants of colour, we are now talking about a compounded discrimination that also includes the discrimination that comes with their race or gender.

Your negative perception of immigrants is so deep-rooted that you don't even seem to see the bias in your position. This is particularly disappointing considering that your own parents are immigrants. Your understanding of the drivers of legal and illegal status is warped and inaccurate.