Bump!!
Posted on 03/19/2002 10:49:48 AM PST by FreedomSurge
The Undocumented Immigrant: Heroes or criminals?
HARLINGEN, Texas - Whoever thought that the terrorist acts of the 11th of September 2001 was going to stop, at one blow, the immigration of the undocumented to the United States are very mistaken. Thousands daily try to cross the deserts of Arizona and California or swim the Rio Bravo (or Rio Grande, as they say here in the United States).
Thousands every day
How many are stopped and how many manage to cross? In January and February of this year the North American Border Patrol arrested little more than 73 thousand people. And although this is a reduction of the 52 percent with respect to the previous year, unofficial calculations indicate that every day thousands of the undocumented manage to circumvent the monitoring along the border or remain in the United States after their tourist, student or of businesses visas expire. Thousands every day.
There is not the smallest doubt that these immigrants contribute enormously to North American economy -10 billion dollars a year, according to the Academy of Sciences of United States and to the immigrants’ countries of origin.
For example, the Mexicans who live in this country send more than 8 billion dollars annually in remittances to families in Mexico; this is the third foreign currency source for the country after the tourism and petroleum.
The undocumented immigrants in the United States - 8 million, according to the National Office of the Census- pay taxes, keep inflation under control, are a cheap source of manual labor for agriculture and the service sector, and sustain economically a population that is aging very fast.¨.
In other words, the immigrants are a magnificent business for the United States and Latin America. But what is bothersome is that many North Americans continue considering them criminals.
Good people and Good workers - Tom Ridge
Recently I had the opportunity to interview the director of National Security of the United States, Tom Ridge, and he said to me that " technically it is possible to define the undocumented as criminals." After saying that to me - seeking to prevent a counterattack by the Mexican side - added that although these immigrants had broken the law most of them are "good people and good workers."
The interesting part of this subject is that immigrants who are thought of as criminals by Tom Ridge are considered heroes by the president of Mexico, Vicente Fox. When I told the Mexican foreign minister, Jorge Castañeda, Ridge’s comments, Casteneda said that the real law breakers are the American companies that use the undocumented labor..
Since 1986 it is a crime to hire foreigners without papers, he told me. And nevertheless, tens of thousands of business owners hire Mexicans or Central Americans without documents all the time.
After 11th of September, anti-immigrant feelings have increased in the United States. Because the 19 terrorists who killed almost three thousand people were foreign, many North Americans believe uncritically that all undocumented are criminals or potential terrorists
Thus, they are prevented from obtaining drivers licenses in all 50 states and there are frequent claims of mistreatment and unjustified arrests.
But they keep on coming. Near the center of Reynosa, Tamaulipas, a coyote or pollero named Abraham offered to take me over the Rio Bravo in exchange for 200 dollars. He never found out that he was speaking with a reporter.
The problem is that every year nearly 350 immigrants drown or die of dehydration; only a few days ago a boy of 16 years named Fabían Gonzalez watched as his father, Miguel, died after spending three days without water in the desert of Arizona. The coyote that was guiding them left them to their own luck and they were lost in a desert boiling at night and frozen by day.
“the Hulk " and green cards
Those who manage to cross have a network of counterfeiters who assist them find a job.
In the production of this article, a Mexican youth nicknamed the Hulk was captured on hidden camera, trying to sell me a social security card and a green card for 90 dollars.
The surprising thing is that this happened on Roosevelt Street in the Queens, New York, only a few minutes from where the World Trade Center towers fell.
In other words, the terrorist acts have done very little to dissuade the Latin Americans to come illegally to the United States. Although the North American government does not want it to acknowledge it, it continues to be relatively easy to cross the border and to obtain false documents within the country.
If you don’t think this is the case, ask the coyote that I knew in Reynosa or the counterfeiter who I met in New York. As long as there are unemployed millions in Mexico (and in the rest of Latin America) or people earning five dollars a day and work for them in the United States where they can earn that same amount in one hour, they will continue arriving undocumented. Nothing - neither the national guard, nor higher barriers, nor stricter laws, nor greater monitoring, nor the worst terrorist act in the history of United States will be able to stop to the thousands that every year look for a better life in the north
Right on!! These people should not be in America in the first place. Simply detain and deport all of these illegal aliens that have broken U.S. law. What's so hard to understand about that?
I notice that the article said that this money was contributed to the North American economy and not to the American economy, meaning that most of the money was mailed to relatives in Mexico by the illegal aliens. This isn't helping the economy of the United States very much.
How do they do that? How does one that does not have documents (no SSN, no green card i.e. un-documented) pay taxes. Oh, I forgot that they like to donate to our nat'l debt by way of annon. contribution. They just figure out, at the end of the year, how much they made (illegally) and send 20% to the gubment?
Or are their employers paying it for them? Yah, I've got 20 immigrants working for me and I pay them 1.50 a day. I'm defiantely going to make sure and file those W-2 forms on them.
I'm sure, what a crock of BS.
EBUCK
LOL. Is that like "drunk drivers are only drunk drivers in the sense that they drive drunk"? LOL>
EBUCK
Considering criminals as heroes sure doesn't reflect very favorably on Vicente Fox, does it? Fox is just a con artist, a flim-flam man, a snake oil salesman. American politicians are suckers if they fall for his sales pitch on amnesty for Mexican illegal aliens in the United States.
How else can the Democrats stay in office? They have bought votes for years. But now most voters are onto the Dems, and know them for the sleaze bags they are. So the Dems need new blood, and always ready to do a good turn for the Dems, the Bush administration is going to hand them millions of new voters through ammesty.
Bush asks the Senate to pass H. Res. 365 [245(i)]:
Bush claims that "family values are important to us", and that he wants to take this illegal alien reward to Mexico with him on 3/22 to show Mexico that we are "compassionate".
Just one question to Mr. Bush:
What about compassion for the families of the victims on 9/11? They died because of an already overburdened and imcompetent INS and an Administration along with Congress who refuse to enforce the law.
Another amnesty is not "compassion", it's a slap in the face to the victim's families and all the American people.
--- Clemenza (who is typing these words a block away from Univision's studios)
Put ME in charge for a year and I'll show you how.
Believe me, it would be over.
--Boris
Bump!!
There is not the smallest doubt that these immigrants contribute enormously to North American economy -10 billion dollars a year, according to the Academy of Sciences of United States and to the immigrants’ countries of origin.
There is no "North American economy." The writer is using rhetorical sleight of hand, to distract the reader from the fact that illegal immigrants are taking from the American economy, and enriching the Mexican economy. He is also ignoring the fact that the illegals cost the American economy billions annually in unpaid health and educational costs.
For example, the Mexicans who live in this country send more than 8 billion dollars annually in remittances to families in Mexico; this is the third foreign currency source for the country after the tourism and petroleum.
Well, bully for Mexico!
The undocumented immigrants in the United States - 8 million, according to the National Office of the Census- pay taxes, keep inflation under control, are a cheap source of manual labor for agriculture and the service sector, and sustain economically a population that is aging very fast.¨
In other words, the immigrants are a magnificent business for the United States and Latin America. But what is bothersome is that many North Americans continue considering them criminals.
The SOB won't show us the respect of calling us "Americans." But if someone said to him, "So, Mexicans consider illegals criminals?" he'd blow his top. Mexicans are just as much North Americans as are Canadians and Americans, but he's playing word games. (I know what he'd say, "But Latins are also 'Americans.'" Right. I have yet to hear a Latin introduce himself as an "American." They only play that "We're Americans, too," crap, when they want to insult Americans.)
Note that Vincente Fox, for whom illegal Mexicans in America are heroes, ruthlessly stamps out illegal immigration INTO Mexico.
I am not sure this is follow the money for Univsion. The audience is coming - there is not much that the US government is doing to prevent it. Jorge is a Mexican national. It is very important for Mexico to keep sending its people northward. Ramos is just defending this point of view.
In seeking a better life the quality of my school district is going down and my property taxes are going up. Shouldn't I be allowed to vote on whether the border should be open or not.
That is one of the problems. The other is that our new guests will also vote overwhelmingly democrat. The senate is in democrat control right now because of illegal voters.
IMHO, if the Republicans make hugh outreach to the Hispanic voter, the Hispanic vote will go 65% democrat as opposed to 87%.
I agree, for every positive anectdote about "hard working, good people" I could probably tell you a counter example about a scammer trying to take advantage of the system.
Isn't this how the Mafia obtained great power in the United States - by providing illegal services at huge markups?
I believe that there is a large and vastly unreported element of criminals. Keep in mind that any good criminal, like a good businessman, grows and diversifies. I think we will wake up one day with a large organized crime problem which got its start with the false document business.
Doesn't this sound a little bit like a threat???
If they are not so limited in their comprehension, as that would imply, they have chosen to deliberately put their perception of their own self-interest over the legal rights of the American people.
Whether their lack is of intelligence or morality, no long term good can be expected from allowing them to remain. Those who for the sake of cheap labor--for a perceived advantage of the moment on this side of the border--would rationalize amnesty, are sewing the seeds for a future disaster. A nation is not a game of musical chairs. And this attempt to justify the present chaos is terribly misguided.
For a serious look at the whole question of future immigration, see Immigration & The American Future.
William Flax
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