I think many people feel sorry for their plight, but with all of the gang activity and drug dealing, they are afraid of unvetted immigrants. Requesting asylum is one thing, and the right thing, but to open the flood gates and have everyone running accross the border is a recipe for disaster.

It is a shame the world has become so evil that we cannot use the same criteria as the Ellis Island days you alluded to, and even then they were subject to quotas, etc.