While the population includes an eye-popping number of crooks, drug-dealers and would-be welfare sponges, it also provides a helpful prop for sustaining American economic growth and cultural dynamism.
Even the article admits that there are many of the illegal immigrants are undesirable. Can we sort out the desirables from the undesirables BEFORE we grant any guest worker documents or citizenship?
Princeton University sociologist Douglas S. Massey reports that 62 percent of illegal immigrants pay income taxes (via withholding) and 66 percent contribute to Social Security. Forbes magazine notes that Mexican illegals aren't clogging up the social-services system: only 5 percent receive food stamps or unemployment assistance; 10 percent send kids to public schools.
If we can't even get a handle on how many illegal immigrants we have in the US, how does Mr. Massey estimate how many pay income taxes and how many contribute to SS? It seems to me he's pulling these numbers out of thin air.
Only 5% receive food stamps? Is this because many are afraid to register for food stamps because of La Migre?
And only 10% send their children to public schools? Where do the other 90% go? Private schools? With the wages we're told illegal immigrants make? I don't think so. They don't go to school at all? Then what DO they do?
Rather than panicking, the political class might want to take a deep breath and attempt a little common sense. Virtually everyone agrees that we need to secure our borders, deport lawbreakers and slackers among the illegal-immigrant population, and revitalize the notion of citizenship by insisting that prospective citizens master the English language and the fundaments of American history and culture.
I agree with this statement, BUT - if they already have jobs that their employer is sold enough on them to guarantee them, let them go back to their country of origin first and apply for that job.
That way we know that they have a job waiting, that the employer is impressed enough with their job performance to guarantee they will have that job, anyone without the guest worker papers gets deported.
Don't tell me that they can't do this. We hear the stories all the time of illegal immigrants going back to the country of their origins for the holidays and then sneaking back into the USA.
If we need the workers that bad, and they need the jobs that bad, fine. Let them apply for the jobs BEFORE they get in.
Sure...we'll get them all to fill out forms, and the ones who check the "drug dealer" box in the Present Occupation section will get kicked out.
"If we can't even get a handle on how many illegal immigrants we have in the US, how does Mr. Massey estimate how many pay income taxes and how many contribute to SS?"
Try doing a little research into the SSA's Earnings Suspense File, study its growth over the past twenty years, figure out what geographic areas are pumping the majority of the $7 billion dollars a year going in, and what the people pumping the $$$ into the "file" do for a living.
"It seems to me he's pulling these numbers out of thin air."
There's a whole lot of pulling numbers out of someplace going on in this debate, and everyone has their own preference.
"If we need the workers that bad, and they need the jobs that bad, fine. Let them apply for the jobs BEFORE they get in. "
There's no mechanism for that.
Go here, and pay particular attention to page 6.