'I can't find a job because I don't speak Spanish'

Daily Mail.com ^ | SEPTEMBER 22, 2016 | By ARIEL ZILBER

[Hojczyk]

'I can't find a job because I don't speak Spanish': Working class Alabama woman says changing demographics brought on by illegal immigration has left her struggling to find employment

Sandra Langlois, 42, is a resident of Albertville, Alabama, where the demographic has changed significantly due to immigration

She says she is still unemployed because she has told prospective bosses she doesn't speak Spanish

30 per cent of the population of the town of Albertville is Hispanic

A CNN poll shows that working class whites feel that immigrants have negatively impacted their job prospects Survey finds that working class whites in the South are more likely to support deporting illegal immigrants

Though Albertville is known as the home of the Mueller Company, the fire hydrant-manufacturing giant, it is also the place where poultry processing plants have come in and hired a labor force made up predominantly of immigrants.

Locals like Langlois say the large immigrant population has made it harder for those here legally to find work.

'It's just not fair,' she says. 'It's like they're getting special treatment.'

Others, however, say that the immigrants have bolstered the economy because they are willing to do jobs that native whites will not do.

'There's plenty of jobs,' says an Albertville resident, Ronnie Wise. 'You've just got to want to do it.'

Wise, who is himself unemployed, told CNN that the local economy benefits from a large immigrant population.

'A lot of people don't want to [work in certain jobs], and they (immigrants) will. If it weren't for them, we wouldn't have any chicken plants here.'

CNN cited a poll which said that 27 per cent of working class whites believe that their families have been negatively impacted by illegal immigrants taking jobs in their communities.

[Mears]

“Carneceria (Meat Market) but without the English equivalent. “

—

I wouldn’t spend as much as a peso in there.

.

[MeneMeneTekelUpharsin]

Tried to tell a bunch of folks that years ago and got totally flamed. Tried to teach unwilling students Spanish. Now, they can’t get jobs. There is no way to force the Federal Government to provide a way for these 30+ million illegal immigrants to learn English and SOMEONE has to deal with them. So, now what?

[Vinnie]

An American has to speak near perfect Spanish to qualify for a bi-lingual job.
OTOH a Latin can speak incomprehensible English and get the job.

[Organic Panic]

...and requiring English speaking at a job is racist.

[luvbach1]

I wouldn’t spend as much as a peso in there.

The meat in the "Carneceria" is good, from American sources, and graded to USDA standards. They take dollars. Come to think of it, they take dollars in Mexico and are glad to get them.

[luvbach1]

An American has to speak near perfect Spanish to qualify for a bi-lingual job. OTOH a Latin can speak incomprehensible English and get the job.

Very true and very cogent point.

[Myrddin]

I went to 1st and 2nd grade in Vallejo in the 60’s and they were teaching us Spanish then.

That is partly due to our treaty of Guadalupe Hildalgo obligation to do so. I endured Spanish classes in junior high school in the early 70's in the San Diego area. My teacher literally napped at his desk and read the newspaper. The class was unenthusiastically convened to meet the legal requirement. Other students opted for French. I had to wait for high school to get a good German teacher. One quarter of German at UCSD and I passed the SATII and oral exams in German for the proficiency requirement at Revelle College.

[AllAmericanGirl44]

Completely on point!

My Dad lost a job at the age of 70 because he did not speak Spanish - imagine that, a WWII vet bounced because he couldn’t speak a foreign language! Sickening

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Wise, who is himself unemployed, told CNN that the local economy benefits from a large immigrant population.

MY BRAIN

I washed it