An interesting fact gleaned from this article: immigration cases this year have constituted half of the cases heard in federal court.

On average, each deportation cost taxpayers more than $6,000 in 2010, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement budget numbers...

...Almost half the cases prosecuted in federal courts during the first 11 months of 2010 were immigration-related, according to Syracuse University's Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, or TRAC, which gathers and analyzes data from public agencies.

It would seem like an easy way to cut government spending substantially if these people were simply given work permits and allowed to be residents in the US, rather than spend upwards of $6,000 a piece deporting people who have no violent history. At a time when "balanced budgets" are all the rage, that would seem to be a step in the right direction.