Illegal Immigration

Ok, I can't hold it in any longer.

What is it with Progressives and Illegal Immigration? I'm not "Progressive" myself, but I'm with Progressives on most issues. But not illegal immigration.

Lemme set a few things straight first:

- I'm not in any way against legal immigration. Its good for the country.
- I'm not against any nationality.

Points, in no real order:

I just don't see where thinking people are coming from when they agree that millions of people who are here illegally should be given amnesty and rights. Illegal immigrants should be encouraged to go home and follow the legal process for immigration. Don't care where you're from.

Companies who hire illegal immigrants ( knowingly or not ) should face stiff penalties and be treated as the tax cheats they are. I know of too many people who are *legal* immigrants that are being blackmailed by their employers. I can only imagine what illegal immigrants are going through.

By not enforcing our borders we have effectively opened the borders for all to enter. Amnesty didn't work when Reagan did it and it won't work this time either.

Yes, they are nice people. I've met many of them. Many are great people. Many are hard workers. But so is everyone in the world.

The government is not the optimal solution for determining who should or should not enter the country. Allowing business to decide who should be allowed to immigrate into this country is much worse.


"But those are jobs American's don't want" - Which Americans? Have you ever watched the Discovery Channel show Dirty Jobs? If there are Americans that want to wade up to their necks in your sewage, there are Americans that will wash your car, care for your kids and wash your laundry. People who hire illegal immigrants do so for only one reason: they're cheap. If you are truly concerned for the well-being of illegal aliens, you would send them money in their homeland or at least pay the ones here a living wage that will allow them to afford vacation, health care and a decent retirement.

"We can't find enough Americans to fill jobs." Big Business loves trotting out this old horse. Every Big Businessman crows the virtue of Capitalism and the power of Supply and Demand. If you can't find a supply of labor, pay more. That's the way supply and demand works.

"But my customers won't pay more. I can't afford to hire Americans." Why do you think your customers won't pay more? They're afraid they are about to be laid off; if they haven't been already. Who do you think your customers are, anyway? They you're neighbors, your family and yes, your employees and co-workers. Take care of them and they'll take care of you.
If you truly want to help the Mexican worker, stop shopping at Wal Mart and buy Mexican products. Hell, Mexian Coke and Pepsi are still made the old fashioned way: with cane sugar. Beats "Coke Classic" anyday.

"We need illegal aliens to pick our crops." If you honestly can't find Americans to fill your jobs, you need to learn the law of supply and demand, above.

"If we get rid of illegal aliens, the economy will collapse." How much more, honestly, do you think you'll pay per week to have an citizen pick your food, prepare your dinner and wash your car? Is that more than you're paying for gas now that it's climbed to over $3 per gallon?
Has the economy collapsed? Have you stopped driving the 10 mpg car? You send how many billions of dollars to Big Oil ever year in direct payments and tax breaks but you don't want to pay your neighbor $5 per hour to pick your fruit? Progressives bitch constantly ( and rightly so ) about George Bush's abuse of empire. Well set and example and stop supporting slavery here.

"But we can't deport 11 million illegal aliens." So you think that any "solution" that just gives illegal aliens further amnesty ( "special status", "temporary employment", "work visas" whatever you want to call it) will solve the problem?

We have 11 million illegal aliens in this country because we've all wink-winked to each other for the past 20 years. We overlooked the business practice of hiring illegal aliens because we're in on the "take". Let them be treated like slaves, threatened with deportation if they even *think* about talking back and pay them dirt. Proud of yourself yet?

If we give amnest to the 11 million that are here, without fixing our border, we'll soon have 22 million. Why not open the border completely? Because then we won't be able to treat them like slaves. If they can come and go at will, do you think they're gonna take it when you bitch that they missed a spot on your Volvo at the $5 carwash? Do you really think that someone who's free to come and go as he or she pleases will wash your stupid car for $5?


Start clamping down on the tax cheats (yeah, I mean you and the businesses that are hiring illegal immigrants) and things will start to change. Your neighbors will be able to look forward to more steady employment, the hospital emergency room crowding will start to ease and you'll be paying more for some items. But you ain't getting a deal right now, either. You're just ignoring the true costs.