NM economy stakes stamina on immigrants

The Albuquerque Journal ^ | March 27, 2017 | Kevin Robinson-Avila

[CedarDave]

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Immigrant labor is like bread and butter to the New Mexico economy.

Without it, according to economists and business owners, key industries – including oil and gas, agriculture, construction, and hotel and restaurant operations – would face major hurdles to keep the wheels turning.

“Without immigrants, our labor force would essentially stop growing, making it very difficult to increase our gross domestic product,” said New Mexico State University economist Jim Peach. “I understand the desire to control our borders but, if you disrupt the ecosystem, there are going to be bad consequences.”

“If the Trump administration removes a lot of these people, it would not necessarily generate jobs for native-born New Mexicans because a lot of these are low-wage occupations that are not very attractive,” he said.

Some economic sectors would be hit particularly hard. Food crops, dairy operations, and oil and gas production would be especially vulnerable.

“Without the foreign-born labor pool, agriculture would pretty much collapse,” said Al Squire, a dairy producer in Hagerman.

Immigrants occupy more than half of the jobs in oil and gas in southeastern New Mexico, during both boom and bust cycles.

“They’re in all areas of operation, from management to hauling and roustabout,” said Gregg Fulfer, former Lea County commissioner and owner of the Fulfer Oil and Cattle Co. in Jal. “The culture is pretty well ingrained at all levels.”

The total undocumented population is unknown. But the Pew Research Center estimates about 85,000 people – more than 90 percent of them from Mexico – illegally resided here as of 2014. That represents about 4 percent of the total state population, giving New Mexico one of the top ten highest ratios for undocumented immigrants nationwide.

[TheDon]

It really kills them to say illegal aliens. Those jobs are being stolen by criminals from unemployed Americans. Getting rid of these illegal aliens is why President Trump was elected. They will soon be back in Mexico.

[Captainpaintball]

1. Get the white trash "I'm on disabullidy" (meth addict) losers, the dindu nuffinses on public assistance, and the legal hispanic walking baby factories to do the jobs nobody wants to do.

2. We can build cars with robots...we need to start doing ALL the jobs the illegals like to do--with robots.

[Pollster1]

These articles irritate me because they intentionally speak imprecisely. I’m okay with legal immigrants working. Every illegal in the country, without exception, should be rounded up, fined the cost of deporting them, and thrown out with no opportunity to return ever. Conflating the two kinds of immigrants is like pretending there is no difference between rape and seduction - although perhaps to liberals there isn’t a difference.

[redcatcherb412]

New Mexico doesn’t have a very vibrant economy.

---

Los Alamos, White Sands, Sandia Labs, Hatch’s Chile
and some of the largest oil, gas and coal assets in the country. NM has survived every energy boom/bust cycle. As long as Mexifornia needs power and New England yanquis need natural gas to sell NM product to will do just fine.
NM is a state of immigrants, mostly legal, a lot 3rd/4th generation dating to before statehood. Sure there’s illegals as there are in every state. But, even with 60% hispanic population in the state, plus a border with Mexico and 2 of the largest illegal pipeline interstates in the country running thru it (1-40 / I-25). A 4% illegal population after 8 years of totally open borders and no illegal enforcement of any kind is not insurmountable or impossible to deal with. Not surprisingly, a large proportion of NM hispanics are very anti-illegal.

[CedarDave]

These articles irritate me because they intentionally speak imprecisely. I’m okay with legal immigrants working. Every illegal in the country, without exception, should be rounded up, fined the cost of deporting them, and thrown out with no opportunity to return ever. Conflating the two kinds of immigrants is like pretending there is no difference between rape and seduction - although perhaps to liberals there isn’t a difference.

Good comment. Together with the article, the Journal had a chart. I didn't post it, but will do so here:

[wjcsux]

You need to remember this simple fact. It costs us a lot of money to keep our politicians paid off.

[Nero Germanicus]

Nationwide, the number of Mexicans who received Lawful Permanent Resident (Green Card) status:
2013-135,028
2014-134,052
2015-158,619

That’s 427,699 new legal Mexicans or we are adding as many people as the population of Miami, Florida (441,000) every three years.

[soycd]

Just wait until they hook up with the democrat party and get Union wages, benefits, free housing, free schooling, free healthcare, huge pensions etc.

Then you have spanish speaking illegals voting and making a new bolivian revolution...right here in America.

[Nero Germanicus]

We did take the northern third of Mexico fair and square when we won Mexican War but it was always a huge mistake to name a state after Mexico. We also granted U.S. citizenship to all the Mexicans who were already living in what became U.S. territory in 1848.
We have nine states with names that are derived from Spanish words: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, and Utah.

[Uri’el-2012]

New Mexico has the HIGHEST unemployment in the nation.

[wastoute]

New Mexico’s biggest contribution to GDP lies in it’s Federal Employee’s paychecks. Everyone in New Mexico is either a Federal Employee or illegal alien.