The Illegal Alien Debate

I find myself supporting the 'Security Republicans' on this issue, which is to say its not too often that the Right finds common ground with me. I can come up with a variety of good reasons why we should 'get tough' with illegal aliens, and of course, I operate from a place of my own self interest, which is at the heart of capitalism.

First, I don't agree with George Bush that illegal aliens perform work that 'native' Americans (read: "white") people not do. Show me the data, since despite Fox News' outrageous line that George Bush has created 4 million jobs, m, but the 'liberal' media just won't tell you that because they simply hate George Bush (Hannity and Combs). Where are these jobs and would these jobs allow a single person enough money to support a decent middle class lifestyle, which includes home ownership? Its not that 'white' Americans WON'T do these jobs, they can't afford to have them. Flipping burgers at McDonalds or manning a fryolater at Burger King is great for high school and college students, who have other income (mainly Mom and Dad) and their primary use of the paychecks is for 'date' money, but you can't support a family on one.

Walmart, the killer of small business, is the darling of the pro-business Republicans, since they aregue that Walmart provides jobs for 'scores' of people who woulld otherwise be unemployed, which is fine, but Walmart is not known for its great wages or benefits, in fact, it has been accused of hiring illegal aliens in place of American citizens as cleaners in its stores in the Midwest. Again, can anyone show me a primary wage earner who is supporting a 300K mortgage, a car payment and health care on a Walmart paycheck?

In order for Bush's statement that 'illegal aliens' perform work that Americans (whites) don't do' to be true, all white America would be at full employment and yet it is not. I am one who has been unemployed for 4 years now, despite having a college degree, years of experience in IT and yet, I *STILL* can't find anything resembling a job. And there are many like me, since in my hometown alone there is over 11% unemployment. Most of the good paying jobs in IT have migrated to India and China over the past 6 to 10 years, and most people I know play by the rules, that is, only the 'recommended' number of people live in a building, not 'flophouses' where 20 to 30 live, several to a room, whcih brings down property values. There were many of these 'sanctuaries' in Las Vegas where I spent 15 years of my life. If 'whites' can find trhese jobs at all, many of us are working two and three jobs, just to make ends meet. That is, if you can find them. I have applied for various jobs that range from nurseries to retail outlets to supermarkets and because it is a boss' market, they seem to want 'experienced help only' and they are more often than not, 'willing to train'. And then there are all the laid off workers from textile mills here to auto plants in Michigan. How is a guy who has spent 30 years of his life to GM and is now 55 supposed to earn a living now that he's been laid off and working in an auto plant is the only economic life he's ever known? And where are the auto jobs gone? China and Japan.

I used the term 'white' Americans for a reason. For many, that is 'understood' when talking about immigration in the 21st century - the whites vs the non-whites, so don't go calling me a racist. And since, the 'whites' are not at full employment, it goes without saying that 'native' African-Americans and 'native' Hispanics have higher unemployment rates. So, therefore, if 'whites' don't want these jobs, as Bush claims, then what about the American 'blacks' and 'browns'? Can businesses not find 'qualified' workers from among them? I hope the pro-business Republicans are alluding to 'laziness' based on skin color. Whites are not considered lazy, its just that these jobs are considered 'beneath' them.

But the truth of the matter is - illegal aliens do bring down wages for everyone. Time magazine had a cover story on the topic of illegal immigration last January and they pointed out how immigrants brought down the cost of construction labor and they were all from the same town in Southern Mexico. It works like this - a native American (white, I assume) gets paid $20/hr for construction work in the Hamptons, the first Mexican to arrive offers to do the same work for $15/hr. He becomes a US citizen later.

When he goes back to Mexico for a vacation, he tells all his friends about the 'incredible' money he is making up North, and suddenly all his friends come up looking for the same kind of deal he got, but because there are so many of them, they begin to compete amongst themselves and are willing to do the work for $10/hr. He begins to complain that the new arrivals are undercutting his good thing. Then the illegals come in and 'looking for a better life' are willing to do the work for $5/hr. The illegal ones are preferred by some employers because these wages are below those of US law and these people can then be cheated out of their wages by their employers and what are they going to do? They can't go to the police because they are here illegally and they don't want to be deported (only to try again later, anyway) and in fact, unscrupulous employers often pull the 'INS card' on recalcitrant employees.

Meanwhile, the original guy loses his job and he'll never see $20/hr again, because there are so many who will do it for less. But his mortgage payment doesn't decline, however.

I don't begrudge anyone who wants a 'better life', but why is it that there have been decades of foreigners who have come to this country who followed the standard procedures to come here and yet there are too many new arrivals think they are 'entitled' to a better job, a better life and they can simply disregard our laws and anyone who challenges them is a racist?

What is it about the American way of life that attracts so many foreigners in the first place. If the Chinese government can create such a job engine, why can't the Mexicans? Why is it that the President of Mexico, Vincente Fox, a former VP at Coca Cola can't create jobs for his own citizens? Especially with Mexico being a new exporter of that very expensive commodity, oil?

It also amazes me that all these people who are against making illegal aliens felons can take to the streets of LA, Detroit and Boston, but these same people would never consider taking to the streets of Mexico City, Guadalajara or VeraCruz to fight for better standards of living. Bush and Fox were supposed to be soul mates, but 9/11 changed all that. Instead, the Mexican government encourages people to go north and even publishes a booklet guiding illegals to the least defensible border crossings.

Of course, pro-business Republicans and some corporations like Walmart, encourage the illegal immigration for its cheap labor. And Bush is from Texas, a state that seceeded during the Civil War because it liked the free labor of slavery. So this isn't slavery, but it is the next best thing.

Then there is the other elephant in the room - the spectre of 9/11. While many of the people crossing the border from Mexico (and lets not forget that huge undefended border with Canada) are law abiding citizens, some are hard core criminals who ply their trade in drugs, human smuggling and a few are escaping other countries penal systems. While most are Mexican, you probably will find a few terrorists in the bunch, for among some of the trash that is left behind in the deserts of Arizona and New Mexico have included Muslim prayer mats as well as hyperdermic needles, guns, spent bullets, human excrement, plastic bottles and maybe a body or two. Pity the poor property owners who have there fields trampled on, their fences destroyed, their cattle dispersed and their homes broken into.

More and more of the illegals are ending up in US cities far from our Southern flank. Many big cities have growing lines of 'day laborers' accosting business owners and customers for work. Many have guns which increase crime in some areas. This was a big compaint in some neighborhoods when I lived in Las Vegas. Some people who afraid to let their children out to play because of the line of idle men outside And sometimes the criminal activity works both ways. Some of them commit murders here in the US (not all are people who merely looking for a better life, but are members of organized crime and street gangs) and rush back to Mexico and even if they get caught by Mexican officials, extridition back to the US is often next to impossible to pull off, since the Mexican government is often reluctant to see its citizens prosecuted in a foreign court, and of course, the Bush Administration doesn't want Americans prosecuted in an Internation Court of Justice, that's why it wants 'exemptions' for Americans.

On the political side, I'm sure that the GOP was stunned over the recent marches against the House trying to turn illegal aliens into felons. I am sure it thought it had a slam dunk issue, since they were so successful in demonizing gays and before that, the 'Willie Hortons' so they thought they had another us vs them issue. Actually, I was surprised at the turnout, in many cases exceeded that of the anti war crowds, but this time, the Republicans can't use the 'aid and abetting the enemy argument'.

Ironically, the Democrats are pulling out the 'Jesus' card. "What would Jesus do? He'd help those who are least able to help themselves" and once again the Catholic Church finds it self 'aiding and abetting' those who break our laws by refusing to turn away illegal aliens for sanctuary when they can't argue political persecution.

The issue is far more complicated than it is often portrayed in the news. There is the issue of health care, foreign languages taught in our schools and who gets to stay and who gets to thrown back. The Cubans have always been the favored ones fro example because they are escaping Castro, but the Haitians who are black, are often sent back. But clearly something must be down to secure our borders, and for what its worth, the Mexican government needs to be pressured into improving the lot of its citizens so they feel a need to come here in the first place and in the second place we need to harshly punish companies that knowingly hire illegals in the first place.

So where do YOU stand on this issue.