Do You Believe Our Government "allows" Illegal Immigrants Here In The U.s.? I Do, It's Called "cheap Labor"

[Sorley]

Isn't that what the whole immigration issue is about?Businesses doesn't want to pay a decent wage.Consumers don't want expensive produce/products.Government will tell you Americans don't want the jobs. Cheap Labor is the allowable reasoning!And what about the States that hand out Driver's License to the "illegals," Our government wants the illegals to be able to get to work, don't they?I came across the picture of a Florida driver license issued to 9/11 hijacker Mohamed Atta--he had a job too!!The illegals that don't own a license, only creates an underground mechanism and demand for fraudulent licenses. So thanks to OUR GOVERNMENT we are damned if we do and damned if we don't all for Cheap Labor!

[Rangy]

I see this as only part of the immigration issue, however.   First of all, there is legal immigration and illegal immigration. Both of these segments are represented in the "immigration issue". Moreover, the "issue" has both economic as well as sociocultural aspects.    I agree with you that illegal immigration is predominantly for low cost labor.  We shouldn't have to plan for an illegal workforce.  But, if we eliminated it tomorrow, this country's economy would take a serious and extended dive. Many US citizens and immigrants who proceeded through legal channels are very opposed to this influx of low skilled talent. But, there are no simple solutions.  We need access to cheap labor to compete in today's world economy. Those companies which employ illegal immigrants in the US are seriously reprimanded.  And, when they seek to employ lower cost labor offshore, they are similarly chastised for outsourcing "our" jobs. Frankly, given the choice, I would prefer we hire the lower cost labor within our shores or offshore than become the low cost labor for foreign companies in the US.   Legal immigration faces other issues.  How many legal immigrants should we allow every year and from which countries?  How should we decide?  Should we use a skills-based approach to managing this influx of peoples or should we run this as we did in the past giving certain nations like Ireland a disproportionately great, privileged status? The opposition here is often outspoken about economics when underlying its objections are sociocultural problems--discomfort with different peoples, color, multiculturalism, and at its worst, xenophobia and racism.   I think many of us here forget that except for the small percentage of Native Americans who have been so severely marginalized by our society over our history, we are all immigrants here or decendants of immigrants. While immigration in the 17th-19th and early 20th Centuries generally had a Eurocentric flavor(with the exception of Chinese labor brought in to build the railroads), today we are enjoying the fruits of waves of Asian immigration.  Big cities, corporate America, and the halls of academe are heavily represented by Asians of numerous kinds.  But, there are still parts of this large country where racial diversity is minimal and where many do not realize the entrepreneurial and intellectual contributions of recent immigration. Immigration makes jobs more than it takes jobs. But, if the real reason for objecting to immigration isn't economic in the first place, then debating possible losses of jobs is all a ruse.   So, I agree with you.  While our government has to enforce its laws, it has often closed its eyes to illegal immigration.  I see this changing.  Immigrants are creating tremendous value here in the United States.  Enforcing just laws is a good thing for a society.  If any nation can figure out the optimal balance between enforcing immigration laws, labor economics, and justice, I believe it will be our United States. 

[Kajetan]

... business community, which thinks that it can't afford to pay a living wage. (small businesses, especially, are making a big mistake here -- plutocrats don't shop at the local small businesses, it's the low-wage workers who do, so better wages for them would immensely benefit small businesses via the multiplier effect.)   The reason for the driver's licenses is so that the States can keep control of the roads and try to make them safer -- unlicensed drivers have passed no test and are not restrained by fear of losing their driver's license.

[Desire]

Mohamed Atta was in the U.S. legally, and so were all other 9/11 attackers.  Atta did not have a job, as the stated purpose of his visit to the U.S. was to complete a pilot training program(so he got a driver?s license, just as any other foreign student would; by the way, he applied for a Florida driver?s license only after being cited for not having one).  So let?s not mix terrorism with illegal immigration, especially since there are plenty of examples of home-grown terrorism both in the U.S.(Timothy McVeigh, Eric Rudolph, Unabomber, all the way up to the Weather Underground) and abroad(Red Brigades in Italy, Red Army Faction in Germany, Action Directe in France, etc.) As to cheap labor, the question is really not in how cheap the labor of new immigrants is, but how successfully their children and grandchildren integrate... 

[Liwanu]

The govt encourages Illegal Immigration. There is not a single cause for the invasion of illegals.   Some of the wealthy business owners want cheap labor.  This is more profit for them & the stockholders.  At the beginning of the  ?.com?  boom, about 40% of Americans were stockholders.  At the end of the .com boom, over 60% of Americans were stockholders.  The bulk of the immigrants, includes illegals, have not completed grade school and research has shown that the average family of a low skill worker will cost the govt $25,000 dollars a year over what they pay in taxes.   Bleeding heart liberals think that we can make the world a better place by letting everyone move here. After all, we are a nation of immigrants.   Since scientists have pretty much decided that various peoples moved out of Africa & populated the world, everyone in the Western Hemisphere is an immigrant or descended from one.  People use to come here for the American Dream of "work hard & become rich", now there all kinds of social welfare programs so many of the poor immigrants can get by without working.   People with communicable diseases & criminal records with a history of serious crimes are allowed entrance into this country, something that was not allowed in the past.  People like this have nothing of value to the US.  Latin American gangs, especially MS13, have pretty much destroyed the Bloods & the Crips.  Not that the Bloods & the Crips being destroyed is a bad thing, it?s just that MS13 is far more dangerous & violent that the Bs & Cs ever were.  There are calls for the Bs & Cs to unite to stop the Latin gangs.   Then there is the ?cheap vote? factor.  There are politicians that want everyone to vote that can get to the polls.  Even if they arrive at the polls in vehicles provided by the politician him or herself.   If if ?cheap labor? was the only cause, hard working Americans would have a chance, now it's "damned if you do & damned if you don't".   If you add my three other groups, we'll be in complete agreement. Pales 72 months ago Please sign in to give a compliment. Please verify your account to give a compliment. Please sign in to send a message. Please verify your account to send a message.

[Stockwell]

You REALLY need to get your facts straight... Mohamed Atta was in the U.S. legally, and so were all other 9/11 attackers.  Atta did not have a job, as the stated purpose of his visit to the U.S. was to complete a pilot training program(so he got a driver?s license, just as any other foreign student would; by the way, he applied for a Florida driver?s license only after being cited for not having one).  So let?s not mix terrorism with illegal immigration, especially since there are plenty of examples of home-grown terrorism both in the U.S.(Timothy McVeigh, Eric Rudolph, Unabomber, all the way up to the Weather Underground) and abroad(Red Brigades in Italy, Red Army Faction in Germany, Action Directe in France, etc.) As to cheap labor, the question is really not in how cheap the labor of new immigrants is, but how successfully their children and grandchildren integrate...  NC 72 months ago Please sign in to give a compliment. Please verify your account to give a compliment. Please sign in to send a message. Please verify your account to send a message.

[Joseba]

The FedGov, in not suppressing labor by illegal immigrants more actively, is merely doing the bidding of the ... ... business community, which thinks that it can't afford to pay a living wage. (small businesses, especially, are making a big mistake here -- plutocrats don't shop at the local small businesses, it's the low-wage workers who do, so better wages for them would immensely benefit small businesses via the multiplier effect.)   The reason for the driver's licenses is so that the States can keep control of the roads and try to make them safer -- unlicensed drivers have passed no test and are not restrained by fear of losing their driver's license. LexWordsmith 72 months ago Please sign in to give a compliment. Please verify your account to give a compliment. Please sign in to send a message. Please verify your account to send a message.

[wiley]

There is not a single cause for the invasion of illegals.   Some of the wealthy business owners want cheap labor.  This is more profit for them & the stockholders.  At the beginning of the  ?.com?  boom, about 40% of Americans were stockholders.  At the end of the .com boom, over 60% of Americans were stockholders.  The bulk of the immigrants, includes illegals, have not completed grade school and research has shown that the average family of a low skill worker will cost the govt $25,000 dollars a year over what they pay in taxes.   Bleeding heart liberals think that we can make the world a better place by letting everyone move here. After all, we are a nation of immigrants.   Since scientists have pretty much decided that various peoples moved out of Africa & populated the world, everyone in the Western Hemisphere is an immigrant or descended from one.  People use to come here for the American Dream of "work hard & become rich", now there all kinds of social welfare programs so many of the poor immigrants can get by without working.   People with communicable diseases & criminal records with a history of serious crimes are allowed entrance into this country, something that was not allowed in the past.  People like this have nothing of value to the US.  Latin American gangs, especially MS13, have pretty much destroyed the Bloods & the Crips.  Not that the Bloods & the Crips being destroyed is a bad thing, it?s just that MS13 is far more dangerous & violent that the Bs & Cs ever were.  There are calls for the Bs & Cs to unite to stop the Latin gangs.   Then there is the ?cheap vote? factor.  There are politicians that want everyone to vote that can get to the polls.  Even if they arrive at the polls in vehicles provided by the politician him or herself.   If if ?cheap labor? was the only cause, hard working Americans would have a chance, now it's "damned if you do & damned if you don't".   If you add my three other groups, we'll be in complete agreement.

[arvind]

I certainly do think that, and Bush goes so far as to say it in public while pushing his agenda. Schelli 72 months ago Please sign in to give a compliment. Please verify your account to give a compliment. Please sign in to send a message. Please verify your account to send a message.

[Skipton]

You describe a real economic dilemma... I see this as only part of the immigration issue, however.   First of all, there is legal immigration and illegal immigration. Both of these segments are represented in the "immigration issue". Moreover, the "issue" has both economic as well as sociocultural aspects.    I agree with you that illegal immigration is predominantly for low cost labor.  We shouldn't have to plan for an illegal workforce.  But, if we eliminated it tomorrow, this country's economy would take a serious and extended dive. Many US citizens and immigrants who proceeded through legal channels are very opposed to this influx of low skilled talent. But, there are no simple solutions.  We need access to cheap labor to compete in today's world economy. Those companies which employ illegal immigrants in the US are seriously reprimanded.  And, when they seek to employ lower cost labor offshore, they are similarly chastised for outsourcing "our" jobs. Frankly, given the choice, I would prefer we hire the lower cost labor within our shores or offshore than become the low cost labor for foreign companies in the US.   Legal immigration faces other issues.  How many legal immigrants should we allow every year and from which countries?  How should we decide?  Should we use a skills-based approach to managing this influx of peoples or should we run this as we did in the past giving certain nations like Ireland a disproportionately great, privileged status? The opposition here is often outspoken about economics when underlying its objections are sociocultural problems--discomfort with different peoples, color, multiculturalism, and at its worst, xenophobia and racism.   I think many of us here forget that except for the small percentage of Native Americans who have been so severely marginalized by our society over our history, we are all immigrants here or decendants of immigrants. While immigration in the 17th-19th and early 20th Centuries generally had a Eurocentric flavor(with the exception of Chinese labor brought in to build the railroads), today we are enjoying the fruits of waves of Asian immigration.  Big cities, corporate America, and the halls of academe are heavily represented by Asians of numerous kinds.  But, there are still parts of this large country where racial diversity is minimal and where many do not realize the entrepreneurial and intellectual contributions of recent immigration. Immigration makes jobs more than it takes jobs. But, if the real reason for objecting to immigration isn't economic in the first place, then debating possible losses of jobs is all a ruse.   So, I agree with you.  While our government has to enforce its laws, it has often closed its eyes to illegal immigration.  I see this changing.  Immigrants are creating tremendous value here in the United States.  Enforcing just laws is a good thing for a society.  If any nation can figure out the optimal balance between enforcing immigration laws, labor economics, and justice, I believe it will be our United States.  Sources: 3 decades of experience across our great nation and in 5 continents   curious7777777's Recommendations The Immigration Solution: A Better Plan Than Today's Amazon List Price: $24.95 Used from: $13.75 Average Customer Rating: 5.0 out of 5(based on 2 reviews) Coming to America(Second Edition): A History of Immigration and Ethnicity in American Life Amazon List Price: $17.95 Used from: $6.00 Average Customer Rating: 5.0 out of 5(based on 4 reviews) curious7777777 72 months ago Please sign in to give a compliment. Please verify your account to give a compliment. Please sign in to send a message. Please verify your account to send a message.