Illegal immigration
The root cause of people illegally entering our country is the vast amount of work available for unskilled laborers. Without seasonal field help, much of our existing agricultural product would simply rot in the field for lack of human hands to gather it. The farmer’s complaint that they can’t get Americans to do this menial kind of work is valid. If we could only satisfy their real labor needs from within our country, the great magnet would be turned off.
As it turns out, we have this resource the farmers are pleading for, and we’re paying a lot of good taxpayer money to maintain it. It’s called prison, and the folks inside it. The Colorado Department of Correction (DOC) reports 22,519 inmates as of June 2006, 47.5% of whom are eligible for parole. We have provisions in law to allow the use of State inmates for disaster relief and commercial labor. I propose we draft legislation extending this notion to authorize similar use of eligible inmates for any industry that would otherwise use illegal aliens. A lot of the silliness of 40 hour weeks and structured environments would need to be reviewed and revised to accommodate the reality of farm work.
Part and parcel with the enabling legislation should be enactment and enforcement of severe penalties for knowingly employing an illegal alien. We will have provided a solution to dramatically reduce the attraction of illegal labor, so now let’s put the hammer down on employers who would continue the travesty.
This idea would work well anywhere in the country. The above numbers for a small state like Colorado are impressive. Think what this idea would do in California. As the jobs dried up for illegals, the flow across the border would diminish and reverse itself. Then the federal government could then get really serious about watching the border. Anyone caught coming across would be presumed to be a real bad guy, and the kid gloves would be off in dealing with them.
This letter has not been edited.
Where's truth on this board. We're waiting for him to cry us a river so we can get started.
Posted by on August 11, 2007 07:43 PMMake those poor, mistreated, misunderstood miscreants work for their keep? How cruel and unusual. How could you even think of such a thing. You Sadist!!!!!
Posted by clyde on August 11, 2007 11:09 PMThere is hope for this new ICE enforcement push.
Before the American public will tolerate another attempt at immigration reform, the government is going to have to prove that it can live to at least part of the 1986 Amnesty deal.
The rule that will require employers to fire employees unable to clear up problems with their Social Security numbers 90 days after they've been notified or face sanctions and a fine of at least $2,200 for a first offense. Up until now, employers have routinely ignored what are called no-match letters.
"In certain industries and in certain states, there will be a very significant impact on the functioning of businesses or entire sectors," said Deborah Meyers, a senior policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank. "Some employers are going to find themselves having to fire significant portions of their workforces, and I think there will be employees - some who are authorized and some who are not - who will find themselves out of a job."
Meyers predicted the fallout to be quite visible within six months.
Illegal workers tend to be concentrated in agriculture and other low-wage industries, including household help, food packing and manufacturing, construction, food service and hotels. These industries are likely to face the most scrutiny.
Let's hold their feet to the fire.
Tzn
Posted by on August 12, 2007 12:31 AMBeware!!! Most people assume that the illegals will "just go away" If the jobs dry up.
Without jobs illegals will turn to more crime and Americans will continue to be the victims.
Example: Three college students were killed execution style, this last week. The reason? Robbery!! The killers??? Illegal aliens!!
Deportation is the only viable answer to be rid of the hoards of illegal aliens infecting this country!!
Mr. Hilliyard...Excellent idea concerning prisoners!
Of course the majority would rather sit on their a** and do their time.
Being out in the fields would keep them healthy, you know, fresh air, sunshine etc. The prisoners could make a bit more money also. It would save the American taxpayer a bundle!!
Posted by A on August 12, 2007 08:41 AMBeware!!! Most people assume that the illegals will "just go away" If the jobs dry up.
Without jobs illegals will turn to more crime and Americans will continue to be the victims.
Example: Three college students were killed execution style, this last week. The reason? Robbery!! The killers??? Illegal aliens!!
Deportation is the only viable answer to be rid of the hoards of illegal aliens infecting this country!!
Mr. Hilliyard...Excellent idea concerning prisoners!
Of course the majority would rather sit on their a** and do their time.
Being out in the fields would keep them healthy, you know, fresh air, sunshine etc. The prisoners could make a bit more money also. It would save the American taxpayer a bundle!!
Posted by A on August 12, 2007 08:41 AMBeware!!! Most people assume that the illegals will "just go away" If the jobs dry up.
Without jobs illegals will turn to more crime and Americans will continue to be the victims.
Example: Three college students were killed execution style, this last week. The reason? Robbery!! The killers??? Illegal aliens!!
Deportation is the only viable answer to be rid of the hoards of illegal aliens infecting this country!!
Mr. Hilliyard...Excellent idea concerning prisoners!
Of course the majority would rather sit on their a** and do their time.
Being out in the fields would keep them healthy, you know, fresh air, sunshine etc. The prisoners could make a bit more money also. It would save the American taxpayer a bundle!!
Posted by A on August 12, 2007 08:41 AMSorry, sorry, sorry for the triple posting!
Posted by A on August 12, 2007 08:59 AMI think using low level risk prisoners to do the work in the fields,clean our streets,do maintenance.Use halfway house parolees to do construction work and other jobs.They can work of their debt to society,earn some money in a savings account so they will have something to start out with and perhaps learn how to work and keep a job.
There is a prison in Italy that has a restaurant that opens 1-2 nights a week for a certain amount of money the patrons pay for a 8 course meal . It is all prepared,served,and handled by murderers,rapists,and others.It is very hard to get a reservation to when they serve dinner. There is a 3 month waiting list.
This is just not regular food. It is exquisitly prepared and is on par with some of the best chefs in the world.
These men are earming their keep and learning valiable skills , if they ever get out.
I think we should start taking the low level criminals and teaching them job skills and how to suceed without resorting to crime
This does not include any people with sex crimes or gang ties or murdrerers or have a history of violence.
They can have the jobs and displace the illegals,no jobs ,maybe the will leave.If the resort to crime then the police ans federal authorities will have to start rounding them up by the thousands.
Posted by Can I get an AMEN! on August 12, 2007 11:09 AMIllegal immigrants reduce the incomes and employment opportunities of U.S.-born workers. Since the 1986 amnesty illegal aliens have become the largest contributor to U.S. labor force
growth. Immigrant inflows "about one-third to one-half of which are comprised of illegal immigrants" accounted for almost half of U.S. labor force growth in recent years, and even more in certain areas and industries.
About 15 percent of U.S. workers were foreign born in 2004, up from 10 percent in 1990. Exactly how much of a reduction this has had on incomes of U.S. born workers cannot be known with certainty.
A study by Harvard University Professor George Borjas concludes, however, that every 10 percent increase in the U.S. labor force due to immigration reduces wages of native workers by about
3.5 percent. If Borjas is right, the income lost by displaced native born workers is enormous and growing rapidly.
As noted in Illegal Alien Crime Wave in Full Swing, in April 2005, the GAO released a report on a study of 55,322 illegal aliens incarcerated in federal, state, and local facilities during 2003. It found the following:
Of the 55,322 illegal aliens studied, researchers found that they were arrested a total of 459,614 times, averaging about 8 arrests per illegal alien.
· They were arrested for a total of about 700,000 criminal offenses, averaging about 13 offenses per illegal alien.
· 49% had previously been convicted of a felony, 20% of a drug offense; 18% a violent offense, and 11%, other felony offenses.
· 81% of the arrests occurred after 1990
· 56% of those charged with a reentry offense had previously been convicted on at least 5 prior occasions.
· Defendants charged with unlawful reentry had the most extensive criminal histories. 90% had been previously arrested. Of those with a prior arrest, 50% had been arrested for violent or drug-related felonies.
All of these crimes would have never happened, i.e. they were preventable, has we had a serious program of deportation of the illegal aliens already here and proper border security to prevent both entry and re-entry.
In reviewing those numbers, note that the study sampled only about 21% of the incarcerated illegal aliens. To get the full extent of the collateral damage, we need to apply the average number of offenses across all 267,000 currently incarcerated illegal alien criminals. Doing so results in 1,288,619 crimes!
Don’t let the mainstream media and illegal alien advocates tell you that illegal immigration is a “victimless crime” and that they are here only to do the work Americans don’t want to do. Since each crime has a victim, 1,288,619 sounds like a lot of victimization to us. Also keep in mind that the 1,288,619 crimes are only the ones committed by the hard core illegal alien criminals who were finally caught and incarcerated. The ones not caught and the new criminals crossing daily are committing more crime each and every day.
Posted by on August 12, 2007 01:30 PM"Where's truth on this board. We're waiting for him to cry us a river so we can get started.
Posted by on August 11, 2007 07:43 PM"
Did I hear someone call my name? Sorry, but I'm busy taking care of the poor and wretched. Maybe I'll throw you a bone later.
Posted by Truth on August 12, 2007 02:12 PMLet's remember we have the illegals better than ten to one.They're leaving,all right-one way or the other.How peacefully depends on government getting in front of this and making sure the exit is done firmly,but humanely,fairly and decently.I for one wouldn't mind seeing some positive incentive,and would consider the cost a penalty paid by us the American people for giving power to the scoundrels on both sides of the aisle who presently govern so poorly.As Truth implies(and I couldn't agree more),it's the American way to give folks-even the government- a chance for redemption,but the clock is ticking on this issue.
Reading on the Craig'sList blogs from the LA area, it appears there are a lot of young blacks calling for physical action to remove illegal immigrants from their neighborhoods, and from the jobs that they feel the illegals have stolen by working on the cheap.
The various governmental agencies had better get this illegal immigrant problem resolved or there may be violence that will help no one. All we need are vigilante activity of any type.
Posted by on August 12, 2007 06:26 PMSo we pay more for lettuce....but:
Cost of living will go down
Schools will be better
Social services will be better
Standard of living will be better
Less uninsured drivers, insurance cost will go down
etc, etc, etc.
I believe that this is worth $5.00 for a head of lettuce
Deport all the illegal mo fackers. I cant wait for next few years for America to spring back to the way it was.
Starting with firing all the mo facker with fake Social Security cards. I cant wait to see whole generations leave. What way to inforce immigration! brilliant!
Hahaha way to go Bush!! you da man!!!
MYTH: Employers are solely responsible for illegal
immigration because they attract illegals by providing
low paying jobs.
TRUTH: Illegals are directly responsible for their
illegal presence. Blaming the entire problem on
employers for illegal immigration is like blaming a
women for her own rape because she dressed to sexy
and the rapist couldn't resist her
Posted by on August 12, 2007 08:06 PMMYTH: The idea that anybody says the employers are solely responsible for illegal immigration.
Posted by Truth on August 12, 2007 08:21 PMRegarding lettuce going to $5 a head
If your theory that lettuce will become so expensive if we get rid of the illegals, then how do you explain the fact that decades ago before the tidal wave of illegal influx began, lettuce was even cheaper than the ground it grew in?
Are you aware of the fact that most lettuce sold in this country today is imported from South America and China? How is kicking out the invaders going to drive up the price of labor in China?
If we kick out the invaders like we should, Americans will take over those jobs. They used to be done by American kids. They would work the harvest seasons for extra money. I did some of that myself when I was young.
The whole reason we have the current invasion of this country is because of the damn big business interests that have bought Washington. They want hordes of illegal immigrants working for peanuts, because that cheapens the labor market and drives down wages for everyone else. Our own so-called leaders are practicing economic warfare against us for the sake of their stock options. Vote OUT any politicians who refuse to support strong measures to rid this country of the invaders.
Hell, we could kill two birds with one stone - round up all the intersection bums and put them in lettuce picking camps.
How about some FAIR immigration laws?
1. There will be no special bilingual programs
in the schools, no special ballots for elections, and
all government business will be conducted in
our language.
2. Foreigners will NOT have the right to vote,
no matter how long they are here.
3. Foreigners will NEVER be able to hold
political office.
4. Foreigners will not be a burden to the
taxpayers. No welfare, no food stamps, no
health care, nor any other government
assistance programs.
5. Foreigners can invest in this country,
but it must be an amount equal to 40,000
times the daily minimum wage.
6. If foreigners do come and want
to buy land that will be okay, BUT options
will be restricted. You are not allowed to own
waterfront property. That property is reserved
for citizens naturally born into this country.
7. Foreigners may not protest; no
demonstrations, no waving a foreign flag,
no political organizing, no 'bad-mouthing' our
president or his policies. If you do you will be
sent home.
8. If you do come to this country illegally,
you will be hunted down and sent straight
to jail.
Harsh, you say?...
The above laws happen to be the immigration laws of
MEXICO
Mexican President Calls U.S. Congress Insensitive for Failing to Pass Immigration Bill
August 10, 2007 - 07:53 a.m.
MEXICO CITY (AP) - President Felipe Calderon unleashed some of his harshest criticism yet of the U.S. Congress, calling its members insensitive and saying they ignored reality by failing to pass an immigration reform bill in June.
The bill would have expanded guest worker programs and provided a path toward citizenship for many of the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants now in the United States, about half of whom are Mexican nationals.
"The U.S. Congress, which today turns its back on reality, knows full well that the American economy could not move forward without the labor of Mexicans," Calderon said Thursday in his home state of Michoacan.
"The insensitivity of the American congressmen will only spur us to redouble our efforts for the full recognition of the enormous contribution Mexican migrants make to the U.S. economy, and for the respect of their human rights," he said.
Calderon argued that the United States should not try to cut off immigration, because Mexico's labor-intensive economy "clearly" complements the capital-oriented economy of its northern neighbor.
In June, Calderon claimed the U.S. Senate had made a "grave error" by killing the bill, and he has frequently criticized the proposed construction of a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border.
There are also two more cases of border patrol agensts facing prosecution due to actions taken while doing their jobs. More troubling, it appears the Mexican government once again has pressured our government to prosecute our own security forces.
Why do I suspect that if this was turned around the other way, their government would tell us not to meddle in their affairs?
Based on the past actions and words of Jorge Bush, they will most likely end up in prison, while the illegals who had been apprehended will get rewarded and skate free.
Posted by RU Serious on August 12, 2007 11:30 PMFrom the RMN today (web)
A third suspect in the July 29 shooting of a police officer in Glenwood Springs is in custody in a Garfield County jail.
The officer was not seriously injured because he was wearing a bullet-proof vest.
Mauricio "Flaco" Villa Garcia-Pena was arrested Friday in Silt, without incident, according to Tanny McGinnis, a spokeswoman for the Garfield County Sheriff's Office.
He remains in custody on a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer.
Posted by on August 13, 2007 03:06 PMA lot of screaming on this page , and rightly so, BUT STILL OUR LEADERS ARE DEAF.
Posted by c on August 13, 2007 04:43 PMC 04:43 PM
They're not deaf. They prefer to ignore the people or the reality of how the economy is being undermined in favor of dancing to the sound of their corporate sponsors and benefactors. Without the special interest groups ultimate approval they are out of a job.
One must view the newly announced crackdown by the administration with a cautious eye. One train of thought is that they are going to cause such a disruption in business over the next six to eight months months that legislators will have to ignore the will of the people in order to stop the threats emanating from a hostile business environment. Thus, a new "Shamnesty" bill will be brought forth post haste and passed without any serious opposition.
Open your check books as more funds are going to be needed to fund all of the new and existing programs the new recipients are going to be eligible for.
Posted by Trinity on August 13, 2007 05:33 PM