The Mirage of Mexican Guest Workers

Foreign Affairs ^ | November/December 2001 | Philip L. Martin (UC Davis) and Michael S. Teitelbaum (Alfred P. Sloan Foundation)

[speekinout]

You have just proven my point. The machines or the slaves--which will America choose?

No I haven't. Americans will choose the cheapest produce. If that turns out to be produce shipped from Mexico or SA, so be it.
And these people aren't "slaves". They're willing workers. Anyone who risks death to get to a job is hardly a "slave".

[SVLew]

Bush is just doing this because his corporate donors want him to--they want to pay their workers less, and they could give a !%&# if those workers are Americans or not. And Bush cut military combat pay too--so when our soldier buddies get back, they'll have less money and won't be able to find a job either.

I KNOW everyone's going to be pissed off at me for posting this...but can't we find a better Republican than Bush? Someday, I'd like to see a pro-American blue-collar worker Republican President--you know, one who doesn't sell us out all the time for some giant campaign cash.

And I'm not against immigration either--my grandparents were immigrants! But this is giving jobs away at the worst possible time.

[speekinout]

but can't we find a better Republican than Bush?

No, we can't, because not all Republicans think alike. There might be one *you* like better, but it's sure that there would be a lot of others who would dislike him or her even more than you dislike Bush.

The jobs that illegal immigrants take are ones that require no English, no high school diploma, and no training or background check. If we have many Americans who are looking for jobs like that, we have a much bigger problem than immigration. Every American should have a high school diploma and some work training.

[JackelopeBreeder]

How many Cubans and Haitians "hit the beach" on the Florida coastline in a given 24-hour period?

Cochise County, Arizona (with only 80 miles of border) has an estimated 2,500 or so mixed nationalities climbing the fence every night. The Border Patrol manages to catch an average of about 480 per night.

[speekinout]

How many Cubans and Haitians "hit the beach" on the Florida coastline in a given 24-hour period?

We don't know. Nor do we know how many Chinese get here in cargo ships. We just know that people get here this way.
And, BTW, if we cut off the desert crossing for people from Mexico, do you really think they wouldn't start taking boats from their coast to ours?

[speekinout]

How many Cubans and Haitians "hit the beach" on the Florida coastline in a given 24-hour period?

We don't know. Nor do we know how many Chinese get here in cargo ships. We just know that people get here this way.
And, BTW, if we cut off the desert crossing for people from Mexico, do you really think they wouldn't start taking boats from their coast to ours?

[speekinout]

How many Cubans and Haitians "hit the beach" on the Florida coastline in a given 24-hour period?

We don't know. Nor do we know how many Chinese get here in cargo ships. We just know that people get here this way.
And, BTW, if we cut off the desert crossing for people from Mexico, do you really think they wouldn't start taking boats from their coast to ours?