Here's a recent story that exemplifies the Bizarro World of contemporary U.S. immigration policy. Texan Saul Espinoza was born in the city of Brownsville, a natural-born American citizen, who got into trouble with the law, getting arrested for theft and drug charges. But Espinoza figured out a clever way to avoid charges, that worked for years. The ruse was, according to the Associated Press, to pose as an illegal alien :

Espinoza said he duped authorities for years and avoided criminal charges by telling officials he was Joel Garza, an illegal immigrant from Mexico.

So this guy figured that he was more likely to remain a free man as an illegal alien than an American citizen. And for several years, he was right ! Notice he was even "telling officials" that he was an illegal ! Well, the scam worked for years, but now it's been discovered:

Immigration and Customs Enforcement tried to deport him to Mexico after his latest legal trouble before officials decided to take another look at Espinoza's case.

So now Espinoza's cover has been blown, but it worked for a time. How many others are using the same scam ?