Posted on 12/17/2008 4:47:44 PM PST by HollyButler
A small businessman who runs a car repair shop in Minneapolis is doing rather well these days, as customers try to extend the lives of their beaters. But he has a big obstacle to success -- he's an undocumented Mexican immigrant. Stephen Smith reports.Tess Vigeland: Now let's meet a small businessman who actually does better in a recession. He has a car repair shop in Minneapolis, and a lot of his customers are trying to save money by extending the lives of their beaters. But there's another big trend working against him, as Stephen Smith from American RadioWorks reports.Stephen Smith: Alfredo Flores started fixing flats in this Minneapolis tire shop 11 years ago. He moved here from Mexico and was hungry to learn English. Alfredo knew that was the way to get ahead.
Alfredo Flores: So I started watching movies, a lot of movies and listening to the radio and let's say I don't know what the word means, and I always ask how you say this in past, present and future. That's how I learned it.
He learned English well. Now, Alfredo not only manages the tire shop, he's getting ready to buy it. He feels at home in Minneapolis. He figures he's got at least 300 relatives around town. And a few of them work at the garage.
On Saturday afternoons, Alfredo closes the shop and fires up a gas grill in an empty car bay. He cooks pork ribs for employees and friends.
Flores: We put lime, salt and we put beer on top of it - that's the secret.
There's another secret. Alfredo Flores is in the U.S. illegally. Days after he crossed the border from Mexico, he paid $100 for a fake social security number and a bogus green card.
(Excerpt) Read more at marketplace.publicradio.org ...
Congratulations to him — now deport him!
Successful criminals are always people to admire.
he and his family have undercut the legal market - so what?
He is a Mexican national. He should be judged by Mexican standards. When he gets out of jail in 20 years, we’ll ask if he thaught becomking a criinal was a good idea.
Load him up. 11,000,999 to go.
Don’t they have cars in Tijuana?
We need to start playing by Mexico’s rule: Enter the country illegally? You’re an automatic felon. If we catch you we immediately deport you to wherever you came from.
And, if the going gets tough another illegal will abandon his home and the bank will suffer.
>>>>>>he and his family have undercut the legal market - so what?<<<<<
He’s taking jobs Americans don’t want.
Americans don’t want to repair automobiles.
It’s too dirty and you have to use GoJo on your hands every night.
Deport the illegal reprobate and his parasitic family.
I wonder what happened to his documents? Were they misplaced? Did someone forget to complete them?
Is it possible he is simply here illegally?
He’s done so well he wants to buy a business. Spending the money to become legal first never crossed his mind, because he doesn’t have to worry about facing any consequences.
Did you ever notice the only illegals the media can find to interview are always hardworking and industrious?
The NPR view of illegal immigration:
Hey, it’s not so bad that our culture, country and history are being slowly erased my mass illegal immigration - these are really nice, plucky people that absolutely *tug* at your heartstrings with their stories. And who doesn’t like that home-cooked, spicy Latin American food - especially with an ice-cold Corona with a squeeze of lime and a little salt. Who’d trade that for something as old, outdated and unexciting as traditional America? Not us!
Back to you Tess!
To be quite frank with you, I have found Mexicans to be very hardworking and industrious. It is just that manual labor defers to improving themselves or their posterity. Many cannot see the link between school and long-term success.
And, of course, they think laws are things to be skirted, not followed.
The Mexicans (and most other illegals we see here) are the bottom of the barrel in their own country. But you can't accuse them of being afraid of hard work.
NO. Are you saying it’s ok to steal an identity and as long you do good (for yourself), all is OK?
Yes, many illegals work hard and learn English. I have found that many of those tend to be the illegals bringing in family/gang members by the truckload, they profit quite nicely from the arrangement. Why do you think “Alfredo” has 300 “relatives”....
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