Illegal immigration: a journey of desperation...

One of the Chilean professors at my school also teaches at an institute that trains interpreters.  He asked if I would put together a short 20 minute speech on immigration so that the students could listen to a native speaker and practice interpreting.  (He also said he would pay me, which was an added bonus!)  Immigration is a pretty broad subject...actually really broad.  So I decided to steer clear of any controversial issues (like that's possible when talking about immigration) and stick with the effects of immigration in terms of demographics, economics, crime and politics.  I presented both sides of each issue in an unfairly vague manner, and at the end of the presentation students were allowed to ask questions to practice how to interpret a question and answer.  I got some pretty interesting questions like, "If my visa expires in the US what happens?"  Well I don't know...I think you get deported, that is, if you get caught.  Another question was, "What happens if I am legally married to an American citizen and we have a child, but the child is not born in the US?  Is my child a citizen?"  Umm...maybe you should talk to a lawyer?  But then a student asked the question: "En su opinión, por qué existe una desperación tan fuerte a venir a lost EEUU?"  Translation:  "In your opinion, why is there such a desperate desire to come to the US?"  Desperate desire.  That's just it.  It's not just a desire, but a desperate desire.  If we eliminate this desperation, will we eliminate the "problem" of immigration?  If we can solve the poverty and violence abroad we can create many lands of opportunity and a "dream" in which people can support their family and not worry about drowning on a raft or baking to death in the Arizona desert.