The orginal position of Dan Maes on illegal aliens before he changed his position on the subject is copied below. Here is a link to one web posting that contains a copy of it: http://perlstalker.blogspot.com/2010/06 ... -maes.html .

Immigration

This is a problem of all borders not just the southern one and it is a
matter of national and state security. We must secure our borders with
reasonable and cost effective means to assure not one more illegal alien
enters our country. As an ex-police officer, I remember taking illegals off
trains and holding them until immigration officials could pick them up.
That needs to happen every time one is apprehended no matter what country
they are from. They must be prosecuted if a crime occurred and deported
upon release from jail or prison.

This only addresses the recent arrivals. The reality is we have an 800
pound gorilla in the room and it is the existing aliens that have
assimilated into our culture in most cases and lead productive and valuable
lives. We can continue to deal with them one at a time as they get arrested
or we can finally solve the problem with a compromise. Because this is a
national issue I am not sure we can solve it at a state level. I would
support the following.

Solution:
Create a window of opportunity where current aliens could register, pay a
fine, prove employment and being felony and DUI free. They are granted a
probationary citizenship and can be naturalized after one year. In the mean
time their children will not be granted in state tuition but this benefit
can be used as an incentive to bring out their parents to start them on the
path to legal citizenship.

Result:
We get the 800 pound gorilla out of our house. We mend relationships and
de-stigmatize a race that has a historically rich and honorable history in
our state."