# Why is the Government ignoring illegal immigration issues? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 26, 2012, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-government-ignoring-illegal-immigration-issues/626348 "2012-06-26T14:59:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Incomprehension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b5ac83/32.png) [@Incomprehension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incomprehension)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-government-ignoring-illegal-immigration-issues/626348/81 "2012-06-27T15:48:28Z")
I have an idea. Let’s shove hoards of people from all races into Africa, that way the continent can be more diverse. It’s a good thing. Who cares if the African race goes extinct, we are all equal. ---
**Author:** ![rat\_avatar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rat_avatar/32/255_2.png) [@rat\_avatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rat_avatar)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-government-ignoring-illegal-immigration-issues/626348/82 "2012-06-27T15:51:39Z")
> [@Incomprehension](#): > > I have an idea. Let’s shove hoards of people from all races into Africa, that way the continent can be more diverse. It’s a good thing. Who cares if the African race goes extinct, we are all equal. There is an African race? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-government-ignoring-illegal-immigration-issues/626348/83 "2012-06-27T16:16:48Z")
Hoard is a noun? ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-government-ignoring-illegal-immigration-issues/626348/84 "2012-06-27T17:43:38Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > My point was that these jobs exist and Americans aren’t working them. There’s no reason employers would take the risk, however minimal, of hiring illegal immigrant workers if they had the alternative of hiring legal American workers. Okay, but it still doesn’t say anything specific about why Americans aren’t working them, nor whether Americans in general will work similar jobs. It’s just not proof. As for hiring illegal immigrants, there could be reasons to hire them, and I think it’s a bit naive to take your position. I’d say it comes down to risk vs. reward. An employee might think illegal immigrants are easier to exploit or less likely to complain about poor working conditions, for example. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-government-ignoring-illegal-immigration-issues/626348/85 "2012-06-27T18:01:11Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > A guy writes an article saying “I’m knowingly and openly breaking the law,” and to arrest/deport him would be politically motivated? To arrest and deport him _ahead of the enormous backlog of cases they’re already dealing with_, yes, would be politically motivated. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-government-ignoring-illegal-immigration-issues/626348/86 "2012-06-27T18:02:41Z")
> [@supery00n](#): > > The reason Obamacare was passed was in order to initiate a process of regulatory harmonization with Canada’s health care system. Mexico is the test case for free movement of labor and people, but not necessarily that of healthcare, Canada is. Whoa. You posted that? ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-government-ignoring-illegal-immigration-issues/626348/87 "2012-06-27T18:03:49Z")
> [@lance\_strongarm](#): > > Whoa. You posted that? First time on the Internet, eh. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-government-ignoring-illegal-immigration-issues/626348/88 "2012-06-27T18:06:09Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Really. And such a half-assed job of it, too. > > I have no confidence the Americans will get a Canadian-style system anytime soon. The various insurance companies will lobby/contribute/SuperPac relentlessly to prevent it. Americans could, like, vote for candidate who want a Canadian-style system. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-government-ignoring-illegal-immigration-issues/626348/89 "2012-06-27T20:14:56Z")
Because stupid, unjust laws shouldn’t be enforced. Unfortunately, however, these laws are being enforced. Lives and families are ruined everyday over our xenophobic anti-immigration laws. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-government-ignoring-illegal-immigration-issues/626348/90 "2012-06-27T20:23:51Z")
> [@lance\_strongarm](#): > > Americans could, like, vote for candidate who want a Canadian-style system. _Are_ there any such candidates at the Federal level? Vermont has embraced a single-payer system (way to go, Ethan!) and I’m hoping it’ll prove, heh, contagious. If it doesn’t, I’ll sure we’ll be happy to annex them as our 11th province. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-government-ignoring-illegal-immigration-issues/626348/91 "2012-06-27T22:31:24Z")
On the off chance that **Incomprehension** will ever read this (or anything else), I’ll just point out that Africa is already by far the most diverse continent on the planet, and adding populations from other continents would hardly change the level of diversity of Africa at all. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-government-ignoring-illegal-immigration-issues/626348/92 "2012-06-27T22:36:43Z")
> [@rat\_avatar](#): > > …The lack of labor will probably lead to more automation. How difficult would it be to make a vehicle that picks lettuce? The only reason no one has done it already has been the amount of cheap labor that’s available. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-government-ignoring-illegal-immigration-issues/626348/93 "2012-06-27T22:42:58Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > To arrest and deport him _ahead of the enormous backlog of cases they’re already dealing with_, yes, would be politically motivated. Not really. The guy is publically flaunting the law and ridiculing federal law enforcement for not picking him up and deporting him. Those reasons alone would make him a higher profile target for arrest. Deporting him would show the public that the FEDS are doing their job. NOT deporting him would prove to the public that even morons can get away with violating the law. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-government-ignoring-illegal-immigration-issues/626348/94 "2012-06-27T22:43:33Z")
> [@](#): > > How difficult would it be to make a vehicle that picks lettuce? The only reason no one has done it already has been the amount of cheap labor that’s available. [It’s in the works](http://www.freshplaza.com/news_detail.asp?id=3967). There have been a couple of prior attempts that mostly destroyed the crop, though. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2012, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-government-ignoring-illegal-immigration-issues/626348/95 "2012-06-28T00:43:58Z")
> [@rat\_avatar](#): > > Good strawman there boss, did you harvest the straw to make it yourself? > > It is because they had come to think of it as beneath them. > > The lack of labor will probably lead to more automation. Uh, no. No straw there, my friend. You claimed that, we’ll, here’s what you claimed, just so to make sure your memory is clear: > [@](#): > > Migrant workers are skilled workers, there is a market for them and they are essential to our country. **Unemployed Americans won’t take the jobs nor are they skilled enough to do the work quickly.** (bolding mine) So, accepting why you say here as fact, we have: Fact 1: The job takes skill Fact 2: Migrant workers (both illegal and illegal, I presume) have this skill Fact 3: Unemployed Americans don’t _want_ those jobs Fact 4: Even if they did want them, unemployed Americans do not have the skill to do those jobs So, the obvious question, which my previous post pointed to, is: _why can’t American workers acquire those skills?_ Do you think these “skills” are part of the genetic make-up of brown-skinned migrant workers? As far as thee other half of the equation, the notion that they don’t _want_ these jobs, let’s say the job paid $50 or $100 per hour, do you think that unemployed Americans might want those jobs then? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2012, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-government-ignoring-illegal-immigration-issues/626348/96 "2012-06-28T01:09:09Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > I think the government has a history of not enforcing immigration law because, by and large, immigration (even illegal immigration) is (and has been) a good thing for the US. [Another and more important reason is that immigration does tend to depress wages and the business community **likes** that.](http://www.salon.com/2012/06/26/is_america_threatened_by_a_maid_shortage/) Not that there aren’t other and better ways than anti-immigration policy enforcement to keep wages up. ---
**Author:** ![Kearsen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/82dd89/32.png) [@Kearsen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kearsen)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2012, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-government-ignoring-illegal-immigration-issues/626348/97 "2012-06-28T13:51:13Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > _snipped for brevity_ > > We don’t give Mexico money because we like them. We give them money to shore up their law enforcement programs as part of our drug policy. Less money means more cartels and more drugs. Uh, is it helping? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2012, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-government-ignoring-illegal-immigration-issues/626348/98 "2012-06-28T13:52:42Z")
Who knows? I imagine things are slightly better than they would be otherwise, or else we’d stop sending money. It’s not like there isn’t the political will in Washington to cut off foreign aid. ---
**Author:** ![Incomprehension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b5ac83/32.png) [@Incomprehension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incomprehension)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2012, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-government-ignoring-illegal-immigration-issues/626348/99 "2012-06-29T14:37:23Z")
I don’t enjoy talking about issues that pertain to this topic. At the end of the discussion I feel irritated, depressed, or a mixture of both. In my humble opinion illegal immigration is not a good thing. If Mike wants to legally come over with his family and make a honest, legal living I don’t have a problem with that. ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2012, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-government-ignoring-illegal-immigration-issues/626348/100 "2012-06-29T14:44:11Z")
Ignoring? What are you talking about? The government encourages it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-government-ignoring-illegal-immigration-issues/626348.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-government-ignoring-illegal-immigration-issues/626348.md?page=6)