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2009-01-16 Home Front Economy

Recession Unlikely to Drive Away Illegal Immigrants, Report Finds

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Posted by Fred 2009-01-16 00:00|| || Front Page|| [8 views ] Top

#1 That' because they are there for the freebies. Not to become Americans.

Posted by Bright Pebbles 2009-01-16 00:27|| 2009-01-16 00:27|| Front Page Top

#2 Here in my little town in east TN, where the housing boom went from a boom to a muffled fart, there are noticeably fewer from south of the border. They may not have gone home but I'd bet they went were there is work.

Posted by BrerRabbit 2009-01-16 08:06|| 2009-01-16 08:06|| Front Page Top

#3 As much as I wish we would enforce our borders and our laws, I have a hard time making a generalization knocking the Mexican illegals. Sure, some of them are here for the freebies - but so are a lot of our citizens. But a lot of them truly do the 'jobs Americans won't' - at least at the price Americans want to pay. Here in Katrina-land in the winter of 2005 you saw swarms of Mexican work crews gutting houses, clearing debris, etc. while the property owners were sheltered in hotels in Atlanta. These work crews were living in tents in City Park, or 6 to a room in one of the few open motels - like the one with a sign advertising 'running water'. Not hot water, not electricity. But I guess the city permit folks weren't around to shut them down.
Anyway, take away the freebies and the PC treatment, and I think you'll find the bulk of the remaining Latins to be just like the rest of the immigrants who made this country great.

Posted by Glenmore 2009-01-16 08:13|| 2009-01-16 08:13|| Front Page Top

#4 the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute

no agenda there, nosirree. Illegal coddling isn't necessarily a partisan thing, see: Juan McCain, (R-IllegalAmnesty). The fact they don't have 100%Donks doesn't make them non-biased. There's a noticeable drop in illegals, illegal kids in schools - read Mickey Kaus

Posted by Frank G">Frank G 2009-01-16 09:07|| 2009-01-16 09:07|| Front Page Top

#5 The only real problem I have with illegals from Mex is that employers use them to suppress wages and reduce the expectations of working conditions. Employers of illegals would bear the major brunt of the law if I had my way. The govt. seems to be moving in that direction anyway. If you crack down hard on people who use illegal labor for their own greedy ends, the illegal immigrants problem, to a certain degree, will take care of itself.

Posted by bigjim-ky 2009-01-16 09:15|| 2009-01-16 09:15|| Front Page Top

#6 ...and add to the crime and corrections stats at higher levels, consume limited state and local resources [who are whining for their share of the bailout to cover the loses] in education and health [university hospitals still operate emergency rooms, but how many private hospitals still do?], and are useful sock puppets for maintaining the power of special interest groups to keep them segregated and unassimilated into the mainstream culture. Yes to legal immigration and the people who work their way through the process, No to those who break the law.

Posted by Procopius2k 2009-01-16 09:33|| 2009-01-16 09:33|| Front Page Top

#7 "As much as I wish we would enforce our borders and our laws, I have a hard time making a generalization knocking the Mexican illegals."

Glenmore, your argument about the work ethic of the Mexican culture is, in itself, a generalization. To simply argue that a segment of the population is hardworking is no more accurate then those that describe them all as freeloaders. I too have witnessed first hand the admirable qualities you describe. I also personally know an honorable contractor that went out of business because he couldnt compete with the crooks that exploited the underground employment market. Ironically, he too had some crews that were Mexican nationals. The difference was those employees were in the country legally, went through criminal background checks, were paid prevailing market wages, and were insured. Bottom line, Illegal Immigration must be addressed for what it is and what is not. It is a Phenomena. Its affects are economic, cultural, and legal. It is not about the individuals personal qualities. Unfortunately, emotion often outweighs logic - as witnessed by the US congress recently expanding the (SCHIP) program to insure the children of illegal aliens.

Posted by DepotGuy 2009-01-16 09:49|| 2009-01-16 09:49|| Front Page Top

#8 Several notes about illegals. To start with, where they light in the US often determines their speed of integration. If they land in LA, they stay Mexican, because they can live in an enclave and reduce exposure to Americans. Phoenix, however, doesn't have any major Mexican enclave, so they learn English and integrate much more quickly.

A lot of Mexican families are mixed, both with all three generations: fully Mexican, half integrated, and fully integrated; but also, and not evenly US citizens or still illegals. So grandfather might not speak a word of English yet be a citizen, but grandchildren have never even been to Mexico, speak English with only a little Mexican, and are fully Americanized, but are illegals, coming here as infants.

The process of becoming citizens is absolutely nuts. To take a fully Americanized teenager with no relationship to Mexico at all, and tell them they have to move to Mexico for 10-20 years before they can come back and be what they are, is just insane.

What we need is a simple, easy to prove discriminator. If you speak English, are hard working, don't get into trouble and don't sponge, we want you to become citizens.

But if you have been here for years and still don't speak English, are unemployed, with a criminal rap sheet, and do nothing but parasite off US public services, then get your ass back to Mexico.

This is totally fair, gets us the immigrants we want, and turns away the immigrants we don't want. It doesn't take 10-20 years, shouldn't require desirable people to leave the US to get their citizenship, and for the most part doesn't break up families.

And yes, adjustments can also be made to speed up entry for those who followed the rules as well. With the same concept in mind: we want good, hard working people who will integrate. If you are that, we want you. But if you are just a criminal parasite, to hell with you.

Posted by Anonymoose 2009-01-16 10:34|| 2009-01-16 10:34|| Front Page Top

#9 Damn...and I thought our recession / economic down turn WAS a plot by that evil right wing conspiracy to curb illegal immigration.

sarcasm off :-)

Posted by WolfDog 2009-01-16 16:04|| 2009-01-16 16:04|| Front Page Top

23:59 Glenmore
23:40 gorb
23:37 gorb
23:29 Bob Angomomble4110
23:22 Whinese the Wicked7368
23:22 Bob Angomomble4110
22:38 Richard Aubrey
21:54 trailing wife
21:48 mojo
21:36 Mike N.
21:26 Procopius2k
21:17 Uncle Phester
21:16 Halliburton - Mysterious Conspiracy Division
21:15 Barbara Skolaut
20:51 Frank G
20:49 Bob Angomomble4110
20:45 Angie Schultz
20:40 Halliburton - Mysterious Conspiracy Division
20:22 Barbara Skolaut
20:19 Besoeker
20:12 Barbara Skolaut
20:11 Barbara Skolaut
20:09 Barbara Skolaut
19:51 gromky