Posted on 08/22/2005 1:10:58 PM PDT by bayourod
Illegal immigration is a complex national problem.
It won’t be solved by piecemeal attacks such as that of GOP gubernatorial hopeful Jerry Kilgore in opposing a day laborer site in Herndon.
Such tactics fuel anti-immigrant prejudices while skipping the hard part, acknowledging the broad tradeoffs and difficult compromises necessary for a permanent solution.
If exploitation of nativist emotion isn’t Kilgore’s intention, then he should pull the plug on this line of campaigning.
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At issue is the proposal of a coalition of community organizations to open a day laborer site in a soon-to-be abandoned police station straddling the Herndon-Loudoun County line. Currently, scores of men gather daily at a nearby convenience store to await the arrival of private employers who hire them for day labor in construction, yard work, and the like.
Kilgore joined critics calling the proposed site a haven for illegal immigrants and a breeding ground for illegal activity.
But others argue convincingly that an official site, including a police or security presence, would more likely contain bad behavior while serving both small-time employers and legal workers. The Herndon council validated that view with a 5-2 vote Wednesday to open the center.
No doubt, some illegals will turn up there. But frustration with U.S. failure to stem the flow of illegal immigration ought to be directed toward Congress, the immigration service or others with an opportunity to make a real difference.
Virginians who grouse about illegal immigrants should open their eyes and see who’s really tending their lawns, putting new shingles on their roofs, cleaning toilets in their office building and hotels. Illegal immigrants are doing the dirty jobs that Virginians don’t want.
Kilgore characterized the problem in Herndon as one of illegals taking “hard-earned dollars from law-abiding citizens.”
In fact, the issue there and elsewhere wouldn’t exist except for America’s addiction to cheap labor. Undocumented workers sustain many of the services and prices Americans have come to expect.
Politicians as diverse as President George Bush, GOP Sen. John McCain and Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy acknowledge that a much-expanded temporary worker program, combined with some form of enforceable amnesty for illegals with long tenure here, is the only hope for getting a handle on the problem.
Name-calling about undocumented workers who supposedly leach the system dry might win votes. But it won’t make the problem go away.
Do you then support the notion that those who oppose the construction of a facility designed to shelter the regular commission of felonies are somehow "anti-immigrant" or "immigrant bashing" because of that opposition? That's what the author of the stupid article you posted was doing. If not, why did you post it?
More quisling crap from the bleeding hemorrhoid.
That's right. But, the citizens here should be prepared to step up to the 'requirements' of having LEGAL people to do their short-work. Essentially, the bottom line is that immigrants, legal or illegal or not, are simply NOT needed in this country. Regardless of the pounding bleeding-heart crap about diversity is good for the nation, there are ENOUGH workers AND the capacity to pay the going rate (whatever that will float up to). Citizens here just need to realize that the problem of immigrants brings with it problems that are not IMMEDIATELY recognizable or effective. It's only later, when they eschew America's standards, language, and history while spending their every waking moment figuring out how to take advantage of bringing grandma or grandpa over to take advantage of reciprocal SS agreements etc. Go take a look at a social security office sometime and see exactly who's there....it sure ain't little old ladies with gray hair that look like your aunt. It's foreigners and young women and our own layabouts trying to SSI or disability...
Most of us do jobs that require us to sit in front of a computer 8-10 hours a day. I'm not sure why you would necesarily consider this a bad thing, however.
Would you rather that your kids grew up to be doctors or landscapers?
T"hose able bodied loafers are living off our welfare system."
Which includes by the way, a lot of illegal loafers who are also here milking the system. Anyone don't believe me? I'll take you to a bunch of neighborhoods near me.
Housing and food are not cheaper. A house built by illegal labor is the same price as one not. Same goes for a meal.
The only beneficiary is the business owner. The savings in labor goes directly into his pocket.
No president is perfect; no, not even Reagan.
This was arguably his biggest mistake.
If this is what you meant, then I agree - they are a boon to those who employ them.
What you implied was that we all benefit from them by paying less for what we consume. Unless I have need of a day laborer to clear my lot of weeds, there is precious little evidence that I, and the vast majority of Americans, am benefiting at all because of illegal labor.
dont bother with dane, he's a hopeless troll, we've told him a million times that reagan admitted it was a mistake. we've also made the point that reagan would have felt differently POST 9/11!!!
Are you saying that all Americans are like your friend? That seems to be what you're implying with this post.
Hey, I believe you! You'll get no argument from me. I've seen the numbers. California alone has enough statistics on this issue to convince anyone with an ounce of intelligence.
That is simply not true. Our unemployment rate is at a level that economists used to consider "full employment." If you took millions of illegal and legal immigrants out of the labor pool, there would not be anyone to replace them.
Go take a look at a social security office sometime and see exactly who's there....it sure ain't little old ladies with gray hair that look like your aunt.
Immigrants in this country are generally younger than Americans overall. So, your claim simply makes no sense.
That's the beauty of illegal immigration - no one ever has to pay the direct cost. Instead, it accrues on the back-end in the form of higher taxes, reduced services and degraded infrastructure - from the dual impact of more volume and less money as budgets are shifted from capital projects to welfare/health/education.
California is the poster boy for this phenomenon - there used to be decent schools, well maintained roads, higher education funding, consistent suburbs, etc. Now it's a little more akin to Mexico City - you luck out if you live in a nice area, and reap the benefits of low-cost labor. Just make sure you live in a smaller separately incorporated city with its own school district.
What world do you live in? Do you think all US Citizens can become doctors? I'd rather my child grow up to be the best landscaper, doctor, whatever he could excel at. Your attitude explains why we have so many incompetent doctors.
That doesn't make sense, from a capitalist point of view. A smart contractor would use illegal labor to drop his price, thereby undercutting his competition.
Guys from Guatelmala doing construction? Hell Dane I thought they were up here doing the jobs that nobody else would do. You know like picking lettuce and shoveling chicken shit. Seems to me they are invading the trades. March em all home.
How about the guy who did it, and affordably so, for 180 years prior to this latest tidal wave of illegal immigration?
Of course not. However, I was responding to a post that suggested that working with one's hands is somehow a better profession because it leads to more physical strength.
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