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I wish I could find a simple, clear answer to the problem of illegal immigration.

The dilemma has many facets to it, and I suspect that the solutions that Congress eventually passes will, at best, address only part of the problem — and not very well, at that.

The recent demonstrations by mainly Hispanic immigrants (legal and illegal) are a vivid example of American democracy at work. Just as it says in the First Amendment to the Constitution, millions of people took to the streets "peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." What grievances? Most of the demonstrators were not American citizens.

Do they have the right to demand that we bow to their wishes? Let's look at the facts. There are more than 10 million illegal immigrants in the United States. Men and women leave their native countries and endure the dangers of illegally entering the U.S. Many cross the border from Mexico, where they have to survive a trek through harsh desert country before they can reach reasonable safety.

Others come by sea, often in boats that are barely seaworthy.

Many have died trying to reach the U.S.

Why? They come here for jobs. They come here for a better life for themselves and their children. They come here for a piece of the American Dream.

Make no mistake about it. We who have been born and raised here, we who take our freedom and wealth for granted, we who complain that our children can't afford half-million-dollar houses as soon they graduate college — we may feel somewhat cynical about the American Dream.

But the immigrants pouring across our borders don't. They want a better life.

In the poor nations of the world, if you are born into poverty, you will live your entire life in poverty. Your parents live in poverty, as did their parents before them. Your children will live in poverty, no matter how hard you work, no matter how much sweat and toil you put out every day. There is no way to progress, economically or socially.

There is no ladder leading upward.

So they come to America. Just as my forefathers did. And yours.

All right, let's forget the rhetoric. Look at the actualities.

Poor people cross our borders illegally, seeking work. They find employment. Even the sweatiest, most menial employment here in the U.S. provides a better income than any they could hope to find in their native countries.

So more illegals come.

What is the effect on our economy? Judging from the numbers, the U.S.

economy is booming. The stock market is rising steadily, despite the huge spikes in oil prices recently. Unemployment is below 5 percent, a figure that doesn't even take into account some 10 million illegal immigrants who are working in construction, gardening, maintenance, restaurants and the food industries.

The flood of illegal immigration apparently is not harming the nation's economy. Just the opposite: Some industries would be hard-pressed to fill all the job vacancies that would arise if the illegals were sent back to their homelands.

Are the illegals harming us? Some of them are criminals, to be sure.

Some belong to drug gangs. Some may even be potential terrorists. But they are a small minority of the people who cross our borders looking for honest work.

By accepting mostly menial jobs at low wages, the illegals depress the wages offered for such jobs. They are taking jobs at the low end of the salary away from legal immigrants or American citizens who might fill their places — at a higher salary.

I have friends in Arizona and New Mexico who are quite concerned about illegals crossing their land. Some of them are dangerous. Most of them are in grave danger themselves; many die of thirst or exposure as they try to make it across the desert. The so-called vigilantes who are taking it upon themselves to patrol the border have saved many lives.

Pregnant women cross the border illegally and have their babies in the U.S. According to our Constitution, those babies are American citizens. The families of those babies have a much better chance at becoming naturalized citizens of the U.S., as a result. That is a loophole that needs closing.

The very fact that men and women enter the U.S. illegally means that they are lawbreakers from the moment they cross our border. Does this mean they should be treated as criminals? Do illegal immigrants put an extraordinary strain on our medical and social welfare systems? In Florida and states along the Mexican border local governments are unquestionably under severe strain. This is probably the worst part of the problem of illegal immigration.

An amnesty for the illegals already in our country would not ease the strain on medical and welfare services. It would only attract more people to cross our borders illegally.

The key to the situation is this: People would not enter the U.S.

illegally if they didn't expect to find jobs here. There is a sizable industry of job brokers who help immigrants to cross our border and then transport them to cities where jobs are waiting for them.

If you want to stop illegal immigration, arrest the people who hire the illegals. Hiring them is against the law. Make the punishment for hiring illegals stiff enough so that they stop doing it.

But would that solution be worse than the problem? Manufacturing and business groups would howl against it. Our economy might suffer a downturn if illegals were removed from the work force.

You pays your money and you makes your choice.

As long as illegals can find work here, more illegals will enter the country. Aside from all the tumult and shouting (on both sides of the issue) can we look at the real problem and find a set of solutions that will work?

Naples resident Ben Bova is the author of more than 110 books, including "Titan," his latest novel. Bova's Web site is www.benbova.com.