Does this sound like the best way to solve our immigration problems?




Hunt down those who are using fake IDs to work; distort the charges by accusing them not of having fake documents but of "aggravated identity theft"; coerce each individual into pleading guilty to lesser offenses; toss them in jail; and, after they've served jail time on the taxpayer's dime, deport them?

To us, it sounds ineffective. Time-consuming. A wee bit costly. A tad extreme. 



Soon, though, we'll get to hear what the Supreme Court thinks.




The highest court in the land has decided to hear the case of Ignacio Carlos Flores-Figueroa, a Mexican citizen who found himself behind bars after he was convicted of "aggravated identity theft." According to Flores-Figueroa's lawyers, he made up a Social Security number so he could get a job at a steel plant in East Moline, Ill. He was sentenced to more than six years in prison.