[tkathy]

Struggling small businesses are being devastated by the illegal market. I know of several that are not able to make a profit because of illegal competition.

[BerlinStrausbaugh]

BTTT

[DumpsterDiver]

ping

[Alberta's Child]

This is a good article, but it only covers half of the story. Large numbers of immigrants (legal and illegal) are allowed to flood into this country not just because they are a source of cheap labor, but because they are consumers, too -- which is particularly important because much of our economic stability is predicated on a growing consumer base over time.

[ZULU]

"who had supported his wife, seven kids, and his in-laws as a campesino, or peasant farmer, until a 1998 hurricane devastated his farm, eventually got work, off the books, loading trucks at a small New Jersey factory"

Maybe he'll at least stop having more damn kids.

[Lunatic Fringe]

Not breaking news

[Lazamataz]

Already posted here.

[MineralMan]

Interesting story, but not breaking news, I'm afraid.

[A. Pole]

America does not have a vast labor shortage that requires waves of low-wage immigrants to alleviate; in fact, unemployment among unskilled workers is high—about 30 percent. Moreover, many of the unskilled, uneducated workers now journeying here labor, like Velasquez, in shrinking industries, where they force out native workers, and many others work in industries where the availability of cheap workers has led businesses to suspend investment in new technologies that would make them less labor-intensive.

Abundant supply of cheap labor freed ancient economies like Egypt from the necessity to innovate. Way to go!

It is nicer to have real human servants than soulless appliances.

[Physicist]

The arrangement suited both, until a work injury sent Velasquez to the local emergency room, where federal law required that he be treated, though he could not afford to pay for his care.

I think I see the real problem, here.

[conservativecorner]

A real gem from Rich Lowry of NRO:

Jobs Americans Won't Do? Think again.

[DancesWithBolsheviks]

I need help, and I thought maybe my son could come and work here and support me here in the United States.
Many Americans retire overseas in part because it is CHEAPER to live there. Why does he want to stay in the EXPENSIVE US if he is not working?

[Hop A Long Cassidy]

Excellent article bump.

[Jameison]

"Although open-borders advocates say that these workers are simply taking jobs Americans don’t want, studies show that the immigrants drive down wages of native-born workers and squeeze them out of certain industries. Harvard economists George Borjas and Lawrence Katz, for instance, estimate that low-wage immigration cuts the wages for the average native-born high school dropout by some 8 percent, or more than $1,200 a year"

That is a point the need to be emphasized over and over again to President Bush when he trots out his "jobs Americans won't do" nonsense..

[conservativecorner]

Lou Dobbs drubbing the President and Senate. Rightfully so:


Dobbs on Immigration
I have to hand it to Lou Dobbs of CNN, he hit it right on the head with this article --

The Bush White House and its lackeys in the Senate have reached a new low in their quest to bestow amnesty on 11 million to 20 million illegal immigrants, while doing as little as possible to secure our nation's borders and ports.

We're now being treated to a great spectacle of incompetence as the Senate holds hearings on immigration reform more than a month after it passed what Sens. John McCain, R-Arizona, Ted Kennedy, D-Massachusetts, Chuck Hagel, R-Nebraska, Mel Martinez, R-Florida, Bill Frist, R-Tennessee, and Arlen Specter, R-Pennsylvania, hailed as a grand and historic compromise.
In Miami this week, one of those hearings produced a memorable moment as the administration trotted out Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to appear before cameras discussing his immigrant father. The senators and the White House demonstrated that they have no shame in continuing to try to blur the line between legal and illegal immigration. And I, for one, believe their insult to the nation's top general and the American people is unforgivable.
Theirs is not leadership; it's raw, cynical politics and cowardly obfuscation at its worst. I truly believe that President Bush and the Senate leadership owe the American people and Gen. Pace an apology.

President Bush and the Republican Senate leadership had already demonstrated just how out of touch they are with American citizens and the mood of the nation when they managed to push through, with help from all but four Democrats in the Senate, the legislative atrocity called the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act. The legislation would permit illegal immigrants to "earn" their citizenship by paying a fine and back taxes, learning English and holding a job for six years.

Trust between the American people and our government is imperiled by such thoughtless failures of leadership on the critical issues of immigration reform and border security.
The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 called for at least 2,000 more Border Patrol agents per year along our border with Mexico to stop the unrelenting flow of people and illegal drugs into this country. But the Bush administration provided funding for only around 200 additional agents. President Bush then promised to deploy by August 6,000 National Guard troops to support the U.S. Border Patrol on the border with Mexico. Now, in mid-July, having already missed a June deadline, fewer than 900 have moved into place along the border.

While our federal government fails, state and local governments are being forced to fill the national leadership void. Twenty-seven state governments have passed some sort of legislation cracking down on illegal immigration. Many of these efforts are focused on employers and landlords who are hiring and housing illegal aliens and demanding proof of citizenship before granting unfettered access to social and health services.
Just this week, Colorado set the highest standard to date. Both houses of Colorado's Democrat-controlled state government approved a plan that will deny most non-emergency state benefits to illegal aliens. Colorado Gov. Bill Owens, a Republican, said an estimated 50,000 illegal immigrants may be affected by the measure, which will free up Medicare, Medicaid and unemployment insurance funds for legal state residents.
Inaction at the federal level is also inspiring some cities and counties around the country to enact laws to deal with this illegal influx. Hazleton, Pennsylvania, and Avon Park, Florida, are set to vote on important ordinances intended to fight the problems created by illegal immigration in their communities.

Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta put it as succinctly as possible: "I'm doing what the people of Hazleton elected me to do, and that's to protect them and protect the quality of life." Imagine that, an elected official following the will of the people and putting his constituents above politics.
The Hazleton City Council will take a final vote later this week on its Illegal Immigration Relief act, which would fine landlords $1,000 for renting to illegal aliens. Hazleton's ordinance also would revoke the business permits of employers found guilty of hiring illegal aliens and make English the city's official language. The city council has already given its tentative approval to the ordinance by a vote of 4-1.
Mayor Tom Macklin of Avon Park has emulated Mayor Barletta's proposal and credits Hazleton with inspiring its actions. Avon Park City Council will vote later this month on its own ordinance against illegal immigration, which will fine landlords and employers who hire or rent to illegal immigrants.

We can be thankful our local and state governments are beginning to take action on the illegal immigration crisis. And we can be grateful the Republican leadership of the House of Representatives is showing no signs of backing away from its commitment to finally establish secure borders. There's hope yet for the nation.

[GatorGirl]

Excellent article.

"Doing the jobs American's won't do" is a pile of steaming BS. Until every single American has a job, we shouldn't even consider a guest worker program.

I know quite a few able-bodied native-born Black men and women, some of whom are unfortunately convicted felons, who are barely subsisting on minimum wage, or day labor, which pays them a measly $40.00 per day after taxes and agency fees.

This is an outrage.

[PDR]

utter nonsense

[Paul Ross]

Bump!

Lawrence Kudlow needs to apologize to all of us.

[gubamyster]

ping

[Ciexyz]

btt