What you think you know might not be true. Arecord numberof illegal immigrants were deported in 2011. This happened despite the fact that ,thanks to the weak economy and poor job prospects, The current illegal immigration rate islowest since 1971.
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Seeking hispanic votes.
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Big business lobbying for cheap labor.
Also, I think that illegal immigration and the “underground” economy are linked. Basically, we have large numbers of people who work and are paid, but pay no income or SSI taxes. For roofers, farmers, day care operators, untaxed, off-the-books labor is much cheaper. That is why landscape companies no longer employ American teenagers-its much cheaper for them to hire illegals.
The owner of the business makes big profits, but when an illegal worker gets injured, and gets treatment at a public hospital, everybody who pays taxes absorbs the costs. For this reason, I have always advocated a high national sales tax, with rebates given back when filing. This is the only way to get the underground economy to pay taxes.
That’s not true; they pay income and SSI taxes, and taxes in general. And they get much less in return for it than citizens. Relevant story.
This is just another attempt to blame the victim. We are the ones exploiting them; illegal immigrants aren’t exploiting us. We like to to pretend they are because it lets us feel morally superior while we prey upon them.
So how does it “benefit” us when Americans cannot get jobs? And most illegals send back remittances to their home contries-exactly how does this benefit us?
America won’t take the jobs illegal aliens typically take. It would be against the law for them to do so; they have civil rights. Americans would have to be paid more and work under much better, much safer conditions. And you couldn’t have the INS show up right before payday and deport all your workers instead of paying them.
It doesn’t; the taxes they pay and the cheap products created by essentially slave labor do benefit us however.
This is one issue in which I’m hardcore Republican: I think they should all be forcibly moved and taken back their country of origin. I make exceptions for the children of illegal immigrants (i.e. they had no choice when they came here) but their parents, sadly, must go back home. It’s not a Mexican/Hispanic thing at all for me. It’s a non-American thing. Go home or get to the back of the line.
The argument that we need this labor doesn’t wash with me. To say that there aren’t people willing to do backbreaking work for minimum wage is just absurd. If farmers can’t afford to pay minimum wage to their workers then the obvious choice should be to increase federal subsidies, increases prices, or some combination of both. It should not, however, be an option to hire a boat of indentured slaves to sidestep federal labor and minimum wage laws. It’s ridiculous and boggles the mind.
- Honesty
Yes, but after the 23 million or so undocumented people are returned to their country of origin, what do you think will happen to our economy? What do you think will happen to the housing market? There will be a crash in price so devastating that the majority of people will be underwater unless you own your home already. Basically it will prevent the worker mobility that the american economy is so famous for.
In the end, illegals are illegals because we dont want them to be documented. Our economy is in need of this labor pool. Our economy needs workers to sustain the agribusiness of our country, and it needs to be competitive with the agribusiness of other countries. If labor prices jumped to $50/hr then all our farmers would go bankrupt from competition from other countries.
I don’t know about unskilled labor, but those are not the only jobs undocumented immigrants are taking. I know of several skilled carpenters who are having trouble finding work because the Mexicans will work cheaper.
I have also witnessed the look of frustration on a ER nurses face as she asks “I don’t suppose she has a Social Security number, does she?” as she does triage on a non-English-speaking woman.
I have had a 5th grade teacher tell me of a parent-teacher conference where a Mexican man refused to teach his son not to sexually harass female students because “that’s my culture”.
I have been called a “puta” by Mexican construction workers while working a freight elevator at a construction site. No, idiot, I’m not a whore - if I was I wouldn’t be stuck in this elevator with your non-bathing ass.
I have nothing against immigration; my best friend is third generation Italian. I don’t know why the federal government is ignoring the problem - and it IS a problem.
Are these illegal immigrants buying houses where you are? Interesting. Here two of them will rent a house and have 10 or 12 guys living in it. It’s usually trashed when they leave, according to a real estate agent I know.
It IS a “Mexican/Hispanic thing”; there is no “line” for them. Legally immigrating from Mexico is virtually impossible; we want them here, but we want them here illegally so we can abuse them.
“Some of my best friends are X”? That’s a classic. And I note how fast this segued from “illegal immigrants” to “Mexicans”; in my experience the “illegal” part is only the excuse people use to justify their dislike of anyone who looks brown enough to be “Mexican”. People here in California just wave their hands at random brown people walking the street and go into rants about how awful illegal immigrants are. And yes, that non-English speaking woman probably does have a SS number (real or fake) and probably pays taxes, illegal immigrant or not. The government doesn’t really care as long as they get their cut.
Really? They all own their own homes here? They easily got mortgages and put their names on deeds?
Come on. Rent might go down (which might be a good thing) and maybe the value of rental properties, but not home values.
I generally agree, but I’m a hardcore Democrat. You can just believe what you believe without accepting all the other ridiculous bullshit, you know.
My wife doesn’t want to live in the USA, she just wants to visit my parents with me and our son. The US embassy won’t give her a tourist visa because she is married to a US citizen, and the mother of a US citizen. They say the only way for to come to the US is permanent residency, because if they give her a tourist visa she will just illegally immigrate because of her overwhelming ties to the US. BUT since she has expressed that she doesn’t want to go live in the USA they might deny her the permanent residency apparently.
US immigration law is FUCKED, TOTALLY FUCKED period.
I admit I dislike Mexican immigrants who do not want to assimilate into American culture. I don’t like being called a “puta” or given the once over walking down the street. I want my friends in the construction industry to be able to get jobs, where they will do a decent job. I’m not going to get started on the quality of the “cheap” labor on the last job site I worked on, except to say the punch list was looong.
You’ve never been called a bitch or checked out by a white guy? :dubious:
Amen.
I never said they all own their homes. A small fraction of them do, the majority of them rent. But the rental market is deeply tied to the general real estate market. If a sudden loss of rental housing demand is introduced into the system, rent prices will plummet. Rental property owners will not be able to cover their morgages and will default. Homeowners will try to sell their homes once they realize that it’s a sucker’s game to pay a morgage when renting is such a better investment. Real estate prices then plummet as everybody tries selling their houses, unsuccessfully. Some people walk away from their mortgages. Bank stocks plummet as investors see a wave of foreclosure losses. The general stock market begins a dip, companies lay off people, people cant pay their mortgages, people who do get new jobs across the country cant sell or buy properties because the whole market has been thrown. Into complete lockdown.
Seriously where have you been in the last 5 years? This is basics macroeconomy principles that everyone should be familiar with.
So, long story short, no, mass deportation of illegals would be a tremendously stupid idea that would hurt everyone.
I’ve never been called a bitch or a whore by a white guy who didn’t know me*. I’ve never seen a white guy checking me out as blatantly as Mexican guys do. I’m not saying it’s never happened; I’ve just never caught one at it, except maybe in a bar. Not walking down the street.
*I’ve never been a whore; I can be a bitch when necessary.
Okay, but what do you think should be done in the real world? Not to get snarky, you understand, but this is impossible. There is no way to do this with the resources we have, thus another solution will have to be found.
I tend to agree. I’ve asked for and looked for proof of that Americans won’t do these hard labor jobs, but haven’t seen the proof yet.