Posted on 04/22/2006 11:49:07 AM PDT by Rick_Michael
3% of Illegal Aliens Do Low-Paid Stoop Agricultural Labor; the Remaining 97% Take Jobs That Americans Want and Need
The most recent Pew Hispanic Center 's study indicates that 97% of 12 to 20 million illegal aliens are working in construction, hospitality, manufacturing, restaurant, administrative and service jobs. Are these jobs that Americans will not do?
The distinguished Senators Kennedy, McCain, Specter, Brownback, DeWine, Martinez , Hagel and Graham appear to believe that Americans are lazy and unmotivated to do a days work. If this is so, then who did these jobs before unethical employers opted to break the law by hiring a massive number of illegal aliens on the cheap? Incidentally, who is doing these jobs today in states where ethical employers are still hiring Americans, paying living wages, healthcare benefits and on-the-job accident insurance?
Whereas most Americans feel great compassion for the 5 billion people living outside the industrialized world, anyone of who would live a better life in America; our Senators seem to place their sympathies with the crooked and influential employers that want to keep the criminal alien employees that are already working for them. If this were not the case, the illegal alien employers represented by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce would not object to granting Guest Worker status ONLY to those who have never violated our immigration laws.
Let's be honest about this. The Senate Judiciary Committee amnesty proposal is in effect an amnesty for the criminal employers who have been avoiding employer sanctions since the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA). IRCA was America 's last failed attempt at granting amnesty to criminal aliens to stem the tide of illegal immigration. The border security and employer (of illegal alien) sanction provision of IRCA were not enforced. So after eliminating the 3.5 million illegal aliens in the United States via the 1986 amnesty, the number of illegal aliens has swollen to 12 to 20 million in 20 years. Why? Because our government did not secure our borders and enforce employer sanctions as promised in the IRCA.
The Government Accounting Office (GAO) report dated March 6th, 2006 concludes that the agency that would be in charge of the proposed amnesty of 2006, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service, is incapable of administering and enforcing the new amnesty, therefore condemning the proposed 2006 amnesty to failure from the start.
28% of prisoners in federal prisons are illegal aliens, according the United States Justice Department. Not all of those 12 to 20 million illegal aliens have come to America to work. Some have come to commit crimes.
Only 5% of those surveyed by the Pew Hispanic Center in December 2005, who have been in the U.S. for two years or less, were unemployed while still in Mexico . Unemployment plays a minimal role in motivating workers from Mexico to migrate to the U.S.
As to the "hard-working" claim, the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) notes: "The proportion of immigrant-headed households using at least one major welfare program is 24.5 percent compared to 16.3 percent for native households."
If we think that education is going to protect our jobs against globalization on one hand and on the other, the labor cheapening effect of open-borders, think again.
Our Senators and some in Congress are working closely with America 's most powerful business interests, many controlled by multinationals and globalized capital, to either outsource your job or import both skilled and unskilled labor in massive proportions. The idea is that skilled workers in other countries will work for less than comparably educated Americans; and that when labor, when properly viewed as a commodity such as sugar or oil, gets cheaper with over-supply. If you are relying on the Senate and the Congress to ensure your wellbeing and that of your children, you are sadly mistaken. Their efforts are creating open borders is only one part of the problem.
The front page Los Angeles Times article dated March 6, 2006 entitled “ That Good Education Might Not Be Enough , states, "More education has been the right answer for the past few decades," said Princeton University economist and former Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Alan S. Blinder, "but I'm not so convinced that it's the right course" for coping with the upheavals of globalization. Most studies suggest that beyond the manufacturing sector, the "offshoring" of jobs has been comparatively modest. But some analysts say the ground has been laid for a substantial pickup. In a recent paper, Blinder offered a rough estimate that suggested that as many as 42 million jobs, or nearly one-third of the nation's total, were susceptible to offshoring.
A growing number of Americans: Democrats, Republicans and independents, agree with the sentiments expressed by the Democrat Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid who is quoted as saying, “ Currently, an alien living illegally in the United States often pays no taxes but receives unemployment, welfare, free medical care and other federal benefits. Recent terrorist acts, including the World Trade Center bombing, have underscored the need to keep violent criminals out of the country.”
The Field Poll of September of 2005 showed that 81% of Californians are concerned about illegal immigration and 49% think that is a very serious problem. The Field Poll of March 2006 showed that 57% of registered voters think illegal immigration is a serious problem and a whopping 71% of registered Republicans share that view. It seems that many now agree with Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid even as he is now supporting the Guest Worker Amnesty tooted by President Bush.
President Bush and the Republican Senators echoing his wishes would like to correct us when by all appearances the forgiveness of crimes and tax fraud committed by illegal aliens looks like an amnesty. The President claims that it is not. In my opinion the penalty for illegal immigration is deportation; anything less is amnesty.
On light of the utter failure of America 's last attempt at granting amnesty, IRCA of 1986, there must not be any talk of Guest Worker programs until our borders are secured, employer sanctions are enforced and the last illegal immigrant has left or has been deported from our land.
To make your opinion heard about the proposed amnesty of 2006, you are welcome to visit www.numbersusa.com where you can use tools to contact your Congressperson and Senators.
My name is Tony Dolz . I am a foreign-born Hispanic legal immigrant, now a naturalized citizen. My wife is also a foreign-born legal immigrant. In our family we celebrate legal immigration and oppose illegal immigration. I am a candidate for California 41 st Assembly District. The cities of my district include: Santa Monica , Malibu , Malibu Heights , Pacific Palisades, Topanga, Agoura, Agoura Hills, Encino, Woodland Hills, Westlake Village , Hidden Hills and Calabasas.
Sure they will do them. That's not the problem. The problem is that there aren't enough of them to fill the openings.
Just look at the birth rate statistics for the last 50 years or so. In the 50's the birth rate per 1000 was in the range of 106 to 123 births per 1000 population per year. What is it now? Well in the year 2000 it was just under 66 births per 1000 population.
So what you have is a large, relatively affluent population that is aging and they don't want to work at MacDonalds. But they want their MacDonalds Drive Up Window. As those workers retire we will not be able to replace them all with born in the USA Americans. Too low a birth rate. Too high an abortion rate.
So if you want to keep the economy growing, tax receipts growing, then you are going to have to accept the fact that we will have to have immigration. You can give those things up but there will be economic consequences.
The bottom line is that the argument that illegals are stealing the jobs that Americans want is only partially true. The do work cheaper in general but I think that is changing due to supply and demand. Remember - unemployment is below 5% and that is pretty much a full employment economy. And the 5% unemployed are not looking for jobs at MacDonalds or mowing your lawn. And at least for the last few years they weren't looking for jobs in the construction industry which was booming and hiring like crazy.
Amazing is right.
The clowns we send to Washington are useless losers.
"So what you have is a large, relatively affluent population that is aging and they don't want to work at MacDonalds. But they want their MacDonalds Drive Up Window"
As a younger man I knew plenty of friends that had their first job there. There's many young kids that would fill that position.
"So if you want to keep the economy growing, tax receipts growing, then you are going to have to accept the fact that we will have to have immigration. You can give those things up but there will be economic consequences."
I have nothing against legal immigration. I think if our borders were secured, and we didn't have any illegals present...we would most likely have to increase legal immigration levels. Though that's not the case and this isn't at all orderly.
Read it 2-3 yrs ago. Agriculture mag, could not tell you which one, so I guess that dumps my claim, but it did stick with me. Is 15% base on 2005-06 figurers? Could be correct with inflation.
"And at least for the last few years they weren't looking for jobs in the construction industry which was booming and hiring like crazy."
Wrong...I come from a union family. And I know of tons of young individuals joining the industry...both through unions and not.
I'm sure they would. They should apply. They will get the jobs. But if you didn't have immigration there just wouldn't be as many MacDonalds. That might be a good thing but just imagine life where you had to drive 5 miles to the nearest MacDonalds. Hmmmm. Actually I think I would like that.
You make my point. If they joined the industry then they are not part of the 5% who are (not were) unemployed. Good for them. They saw the openings and they went for them. And they got the jobs.
"Sure they will do them. That's not the problem. The problem is that there aren't enough of them to fill the openings."
You know, we have that problem in the helicopter industry, but I don't see anyone focusing on that. The focus is on industries that could easily operate with small increases in legal immigration. But industries that have wages soaring due to demand aren't getting the light of day. The problem I have with what your writing isn't the idea, it's the method.
The method can't rely on anarchy, it must take in account out of control rising wages/inflation. All of those could be accounted for in legal immigration and the actual enforcement of our current laws. Truth is we need less uneducated workers, and more educated immigrants. Our medical industry is in dire need of relief. We could easily import low wage workers at the drop of a dime...they're everywhere...why not have order and common sense?
"You make my point. If they joined the industry then they are not part of the 5% who are (not were) unemployed. Good for them. They saw the openings and they went for them. And they got the jobs."
Some were.
*This makes me think of what someone wrote to me...
"It all really falls back to your economics. Where do you give your weight? Supply side or demand side. Do you want corporate health or purchaser health. You hope that the health of one bolsters the other, but this isn't always the case. The current US administration stance is that corporate health is more important, so they want to make it easy for them to get cheap labor."
The method can't rely on anarchy, it must take in account out of control rising wages/inflation. All of those could be accounted for in legal immigration and the actual enforcement of our current laws. Truth is we need less uneducated workers, and more educated immigrants. Our medical industry is in dire need of relief. We could easily import low wage workers at the drop of a dime...they're everywhere...why not have order and common sense?
I don't disagree with any of this. I'm not in favor of illegal immigration. I am very much in favor of more educated immigrants. In fact, we have had a good deal of that by way of the people who came here from Vietnam and Taiwan to study and just stayed on. My experience with these people in the aerospace industry for many years was very positive. And these guys/gals were probably 100% legit in terms of following the rules.
We need the workers but I agree with you that we need to get back to some kind of system that controls immigration. A fence, more border personnel and a Guest Worker and Work Your Way up to Citizenship Program would get my vote.
"We need the workers but I agree with you that we need to get back to some kind of system that controls immigration. A fence, more border personnel and a Guest Worker and Work Your Way up to Citizenship Program would get my vote."
If it was up to me, I'd first and foremost secure the border. ...prove that there's few illegals passing, and absolutely no drug smugglers/terrorists passing. Then we could work on a reasonable processes for the 12 milion (or more) here.
If the border was proven effectively sealed, here's what I would find permissable...
Note: The below must be taken in full context.
1)I would give a general permanent residence (to illegals), given: A--they'll never get a right to vote B-- they're sponsored C--they pay for their own medical insurance D--they're deportable if they commit three crimes (like California but deportation) E--they're not eligible for SS or medicare...(they still get taxed a similiar amount only to enforce illegal immigration both on the border and in the work place).
2)There's no guest worker program. Wage/inflation growth data in each industry is reviewed yearly. When ever a industries 'wages/inflation is out of control' (particular to a state), we offer permanent residence to a person whom takes a job in that industry (and in that state) for two years. After those two years, they could move to any industry and state they chose.
3)English is the language of the land.
4)I'll be the one of the few to say it, but if you came legally on a temporary visa, and you've graduated college here, you should be eligible to stay...I do think this should also be based on my wage/inflation concept.
*In other words, they're forced to be responsible for themselves, but their tax dollar goes directly towards making sure this problem doesn't come-up again.
And it focus on real immigration needs, not fabricated needs.
Inflation is just the Fed increasing the money supply by 2.5% to 3% a year. You can't control wages in any fashion and have any impact on inflation. It is built into the system to protect the Government by depreciating the real value of the debt they add on every year, to protect the banking industry by guaranteeing that price inflation of real property (homes and cars mostly) will make their loans look OK even when they aren't and to insure that there is a steady flow of dollars to the be loaned out to preserve a viable banking industry.
Wage inflation is simply a response to this increase in the money supply that makes goods cost more each year. It is not a cause. It is an effect.
El Jorge Arbusto is deeply saddened to hear you say this...He definitely does not agree. He thinks it's just dandy that American taxpayers are footing the bills for all his lame-brained ideas.
"Inflation is just the Fed increasing the money supply by 2.5% to 3% a year"
It's more or less not a direct science. The increase has a lot to do with the actually production and/or use of the currency.
If 97% are doing jobs Americans won't do, does that mean less than 3% aren't working?
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