Thu 7 Dec 2006
I think most of the claims of racism against people who are against illegal immigration are unfounded. I didn’t say all.
There are six fundamental problems with illegal aliens.
1. Those aliens typically work under the table for unscrupulous employers.
2. The are usually given wages below the mandated minimum wage.
3. Do not have access to worker’s compensation through these employers.
4. Use the most social services without paying in to the system.
5. Move $25 billion a year out of the US.
6. Because they are willing to work for less than minimum wage, they displace American citizens.
None of these issues have a thing to do with race.
That said, there does exist the knee-jerk reaction with some people to see every Latino as an illegal alien – that is racism. I hope the new Congress can move beyond the issue of color and address the real economic problems of illegal immigration.
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March 27th, 2010 at 2:26 pm
There are positives to illegal workers also.
* They pay into social security with no hope of ever collecting, helping to keep that system afloat.
* Many of them have income taxes withheld, and few ever file to get it back.
* But above all, they help keep the price of food down. I’m not saying this is necessarily right, but it is true: I wouldn’t pick strawberries or chilli peppers or detassle corn as a full-time job even for $50 an hour. Can you imagine what produce would cost if picked by union labor with benefits? Though many farmers say they can’t get legal workers to work the fields at any price.
Incidently, my grandfather was in this country illegally for 50 years, after immigrating legally as a child from Northern Ireland. He worked his tail off at manual labor jobs until he was 85 and never asked for a handout from anyone.
It’s also worth noting that before the border was closed, Mexican laborers would come to work in the U.S. *and then go home*. The more difficult it is to come and go, the more likely they are to try to stay.