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What exactly is the problem?
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Interesting question, and I’m assuming it’s a legitimate one and not just an attempt to stir the pot.
To begin with, the exact problem is simply illegal immigration and it's associated costs and ills. The adverse effects of this problem are many and varied and ultimately encompass more then just the economic considerations. To a certain extent we can quantify the economic costs; others are more esoteric but probably more costly and damaging in the long run. The first is illustrated by the following quote from the weblink below:
Illegal immigration costs the taxpayers of California — which has the highest number of illegal aliens nationwide — $10.5 billion a year for education, health care and incarceration, according to a study released yesterday.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/natio...2115-6766r.htm
This $10.5 billion represents hard costs or those which can be directly identified. However, it does not include the soft costs, such as the cost of the crimes which were committed by the illegal aliens.
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The incarceration costs did not include judicial expenditures or the monetary costs of the crimes committed by illegal aliens that led to their incarceration.
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Without going into expansive elaboration, the first problem is simply the cost of illegal immigration.
In assessing the above cost, we must also weigh the "opportunity cost"; meaning what could we have done with this money if it wasn't spent on illegal immigration? I think most of us can come up with a few good ways to spend $10 billion on an annual basis.
Secondly, I personally believe that illegally immigration has a greater cost which is the negative impact on our culture and values. I believe these values are the unique characteristic that defines us as Americans and the erosion of them can and will have a negative impact on our morale, our cohesion and our ability to maintain our preeminent position as a global power. To a large extent, the very things which make us unique as Americans will simply disappear.