10 big questions on immigration
Alan Hawes
The Post and Courier
ESL teacher Helen Reid reads a bilingual book Thursday to Spanish- and English-speaking first-graders at Midland Park Elementary School in North Charleston.
On the Web
About this series
In the coming weeks, The Post and Courier will explore the potential consequences of illegal immigration on people in business, law enforcement, health and education.
South Carolina is like many states grappling with the issue of illegal immigration from both an economic and legal perspective. It's important to know the basics before decisions are made. The Post and Courier researched answers for ten basic questions about immigrants living and working in the United States.
Q: Are illegal immigrants driving down wages?
A: If you work in construction, food service or landscaping, the answer is yes. Wages in these three industries declined from 2000 to 2005, despite an economic boom that should have pushed them higher. Still, undocumented workers earn higher wages than many people assume. In the fall, while the local construction industry was still strong, many reported earning $8 to $10 an hour, well above the $5.85 minimum wage.
Source: University of South Carolina Consortium for Latino Studies,
interviews with day laborers
"It's not just wages. Employers value this labor force, too, because of low absenteeism, high productivity." — Doug Woodward, economics professor at the Moore School of Business, University of South Carolina
Q. Are today's immigrants different from 100 years ago?
A: Yes and no. The U.S. did not restrict immigration before 1880. As laws passed setting limits, the number of unauthorized immigrants grew. After strict restrictions were passed in the 1960s, illegal immigration jumped. The foreign-born population is now 12.4 percent. That is higher than any time during the past 50 years, but it is comparable to 1860 to 1930. The highest was 14.8 percent in the 1890s. Immigrants have always come for similar reasons: jobs and a desire to reunite with family. Fewer immigrants today are European; most come from Asia and Latin America. In the past, most immigrants were poor and unskilled, while a third of immigrants today are highly educated professionals.
Sources: Pew Hispanic Center; U.S. Census Bureau; Donna R. Gabaccia, director of Immigration History Research Center at University of Minnesota
Q: Why don't immigrants come here legally?
A: Nearly half of all immigrants now living in the U.S. entered legally with border crossing cards and on visitor and student visas, then overstayed their allowed time. The U.S. does not allow people from many countries a legal pathway to enter and stay permanently unless they have an immediate family member or employer to sponsor them. Mexico is one of those restricted countries. Temporary work visas exist, but they are complicated and require a petition from an employer.
Sources: Pew Hispanic Center, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
Q: Why don't immigrants want to learn English?
A: Many do, but they don't have time. Also, acquiring a new language becomes more difficult with age. Immigrants pack local English classes several nights a week. A national study, while not differentiating legal status, found that Latinos born outside the U.S. were more likely to value learning English than U.S.-born Latinos. Ninety-six percent of foreign-born respondents said teaching English to immigrants' children was "very important," compared with 88 percent of U.S.-born Latinos.
Sources: Trident Literacy Association, Pew Hispanic Center
"These people desperately want to learn English and are willing to come to class at night even after a long day's work." — Eileen Chepenik, executive director of the Trident Literacy Association.
Q: Are illegal immigrants taking American jobs?
A: It depends on whom you ask. Landscaping, construction and service-industry employers have long complained about a shortage of reliable workers. At the same time, research shows that the immigrant labor pool, legal and illegal, has been displacing younger U.S.-born workers. Also, farm worker earnings have been rising more slowly than wages as a whole, the opposite of what economists would expect amid a worker shortage.
Sources: University of South Carolina Consortium for Latino Studies, Center for Immigration Studies
Q: Why doesn't the federal government arrest day-laborers waiting for work on the street, because so many of them are in the U.S. illegally?
A: Immigration and Customs Enforcement prioritizes public safety and national security threats, such as gangs, drugs and human smuggling. Agents can't just pick up people on the street who appear to be from another country. They must follow investigative leads with limited resources, having only 26 agents for all of South Carolina.
Source: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
"ICE does not randomly enforce immigration law. [...] Additionally, ICE does not engage in racial profiling of any type." — Richard Rocha, of the ICE in Washington
Q: Do illegal immigrants commit a disproportionate amount of crime, apart from the act of living in the U.S. illegally?
A: There is little reliable data. The Charleston County Detention Center, like most other local jails, does not track immigration status. Nor does the Federal Bureau of Prisons, which houses federal inmates, track whether people are in the U.S. legally. But the bureau does record citizenship. Of 200,000-plus inmates, 147,843 were U.S. citizens, and 41,927 were citizens of Latin American countries — nearly 21 percent. Another 10,893 prisoners hail from other countries or are of unknown citizenship. Federal prisons have a greater share of foreign citizens since the federal government prosecutes immigration violations.
Sources: Federal Bureau of Prisons, S.C. Department of Corrections, Charleston County Sheriff's Office
"From my perspective, illegal immigrants have not, in the past, committed a disproportionate amount of our crime. I have noticed, however, that they are becoming more involved in criminal behaviors each year." — North Charleston Police Chief Jon Zumalt
Q: Do illegal immigrants collect public benefits?
A: Yes and no. The Post and Courier called more than a dozen federal, state and local agencies and found that nearly all check immigration status and deny benefits to undocumented people. They are ineligible for food stamps, and from November 2006 to November 2007, 5,731 people in South Carolina were denied Medicaid because they could not prove citizenship. Federal food assistance programs, however, such as Women, Infants, and Children and the National School Lunch Program, can benefit undocumented people. The exact cost is impossible to determine, although a national think tank that advocates reducing immigration estimates food assistance costs the U.S. nearly $2 billion. By federal law, children attend public schools regardless of citizenship. South Carolina spends $4.2 million to provide language instruction. That amount rose $1.7 million in the past two years.
Sources: S.C. Department of Health and Human Services, S.C. Department of Education, Center for Immigration Studies
Q: Are illegal immigrants contributing to the health care crisis?
A: Since health care professionals do not record immigration status, the cost of illegal immigrants is unknown. In 2005, Latinos in South Carolina comprised 1.6 percent of hospital discharges. Also in 2005, about 2 percent of patient visits at the Medical University of South Carolina were people whose primary language was Spanish. The numbers are rising. The number of Spanish speakers treated in 1995 was 85; in 2005, Hispanics made 19,604 visits. In cases of noncatastrophic care, many immigrants agree to payment plans.
Sources: University of South Carolina Consortium for Latino Studies and Moore School of Business, MUSC, S.C. Department of Health and Human Services, immigrant interviews
"The first question they ask is 'Where do I pay?' " — Jason Roberson, coordinator of interpreter services at MUSC
Q: Do illegal immigrants pay taxes?
A: Yes. They pay sales taxes. Many also pay into Social Security and Medicare through payroll taxes, unless they're paid under the table by employers, but do not receive much in return. Their impact is debatable. The Social Security Administration says it collected about $11.5 billion from about 10.3 million W-2s where the name and the Social Security number did not match. Some mismatches resulted from typos or name changes, while some forms have invalid numbers. Just how many, the administration cannot say. Some say this is keeping Social Security afloat; other studies say it has a minimal impact. When illegal immigrants have children, the cost to put them through school might outweigh the taxes their parents contribute.
Sources: U.S. Government Accountability Office, U.S. Social Security Administration, University of South Carolina, Center for Immigration Studies
Reach Noah Haglund at nhaglund@postandcourier.com or 937-5550. Reach Jill Coley at jcoley@postandcourier.com or 937-5719.
E-mail this story 
Printer-friendly version
Notice about comments:
The Post and Courier is pleased to offer readers the ability to comment on stories. We expect our readers to engage in lively, yet civil discourse. The Post and Courier does not edit user submitted statements and we cannot promise that readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments posted in the comments area. Responsibility for the statements posted lies with the person submitting the comment, not postandcourier.com. If you find a comment that is objectionable, please click "suggest removal" and we will review it for possible removal. Please be reminded, however, that in accordance with our Terms of Use and federal law, we are under no obligation to remove any third party comments posted on our Web site.
Full terms and conditions can be read here.
Comments
This article has 17 comment(s)
Posted by lccat on March 15, 2008 at 1:32 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The once-"conquered" scourge of tuberculosis has made a terrifying comeback, especially in America's inner cities (the American Lung Association has called TB "out of control"), and drug-resistant TB accounts for more and more new cases. The reason? Record legal and illegal immigration levels. Indeed, the highest numbers of multi-drug-resistant TB cases are in New York, California, Texas and Florida – states with the highest populations of new immigrants.
Leprosy, the contagious skin disease evoking thoughts of biblical and medieval times, is now making its mark in the United States, and many believe the influx of illegal aliens is the main factor.
Avian influenza – or "bird flu" – has caused such concern at the highest level of the U.S. government that in 2005, the Congressional Budget Office reported that a severe pandemic of avian flu hitting the U.S. would kill 2 million Americans and throw the country into a major recession.
Other diseases once virtually unknown in America, like Chagas disease and Dengue fever, are cropping up in southern border areas, while old and much-feared plagues like polio and malaria are also on the upswing.
Compounding all of this, the astronomical number of illegal aliens swarming into the United States is forcing the closure of dozens of hospitals, spreading previously vanquished diseases and threatening to destroy America's prized health-care system.
Posted by lccat on March 15, 2008 at 1:38 a.m. (Suggest removal)
These ILLEGALS are much different from past Legal Immigrants’, they do not want to be Part of the United States they want to take over the United States for a Foreign Power(Third World Country) under that Government's direction and assisted by United States Citizens and other ILLEGALS of the same heritage(sp.) as this Third World Country not to mention our elitist politicians and their elitist contributors.
Posted by carolinadude on March 15, 2008 at 8:35 a.m. (Suggest removal)
As most informed residents of SC are aware, immigration reform legislation (with no teeth) is in conference committee in the SC General Assembly. i have no trust of local or state government as they're doing very little to "step up" and provide meaningful reform that punishes employers who illegally hire illegal immigrants. The reason this conference will not yield a strict enforcement bill is because lawmakers are bought by the Shamber of Commerce. These Shamber lobbyist should be arrested for "obstruction of justice". And then Shamber officials that hire these lobbyists (hired guns) should also be arrested for obstruction. And lastly we need to throw out most of the lawmakers in Columbia who represent the Shamber rather than those who've elected them. THROW THE RASCALS OUT IN THE JUNE 10TH PRIMARY.
Posted by Brittanicus on March 16, 2008 at 7:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Overpopulation, congestion, urban sprawl, pollution, environmental damage, crime, diminishing resources, Diseases, lack of affordable housing, depressed wages, underground economic, fraudulent documents, identity thief, tax invasion, soaring crime rate, increased tax burdens, overcrowded schools, uneducated children, overcrowded prisons, inadequate health care, the balkanization of our communities and a large and growing population with loyalty to other Nations, the overall decline in our quality of life are the result of unrestrained illegal immigration! America cannot accept the worlds population of other countries Criminals, Undesirables and Uneducated people. Too many people chasing too few resources is not sound economic, social or cultural policy. This is not racism but pragmatism & common sense! Every industrialized nation has taken steps to end illegal immigration and to limit legal immigration to only that which is prudent, demonstrably necessary, and above al! l other concerns, in the best interest of their native population. Its insane to suggest that America should not do likewise!
The illegal invasion can only be understood by the corrupting influence on politicians of money for cheap labor for the Republicans or the Welfare votes for the Democrats that makes them dishonor their Oath of Office, the US Constitution against Invasion, and Enforcement of our Immigration Laws! Powerful forces at work to stop relevant immigration enforcement, that includes La Raza and friends, big businesses, the church machine and other special interest lobby.
A final accounting is on hand, before we swear in a new president. All three desire to enact amnesty and allow the 12 to 20 million people who
have broken our laws of sovereignty to stay. If the SAVE ACT is enacted this will demand that all those here without papers must leave. They call this attrition or self-deportation.
H.R. 4088 can enforce "THE RULE OF LAW"
Keep calling your Congressmen today, toll free numbers include 1-877-851-6437 and 1-866-220-0044, or call toll 1-202-224-3121 AND REGISTER YOUR OUTRAGE at ongoing efforts to keep our country from enforcing its immigration laws!
You THE PEOPLE must demand from your state and federal representatives to co-sign on to the SAVE ACT. You can fax for free at NUMBERSUSA.COM or http://www.outsourcecongress.org/outsour...
Posted by Bettybb on March 16, 2008 at 8:35 p.m. (Suggest removal)
This isn’t journalism, it is propaganda. I am astonished it was even published. Don’t you have editors to stop this type of travesty from occurring? Or are you following Fox News and Propaganda’s lead?
a)Are illegals driving down wages.
While the article admits they are, it does not mention that many illegal aliens are paid under the table, and do not pay taxes. It does not mention the going rate for Americans. It does not mention the study that shows that Black Americans are being disportionately affected by illegal aliens stealing their jobs.
Of course employers love the illegal aliens’work ethnic, they don’t have to pay overtime, follow American labor law, and can treat these people like slaves. No mention either that the illegals’ wages are subsidized by the taxpayer through all the benefits they get. So dishonest employers are being aided by taxpayer funds.
Also, there is no mention of the fact that educated Mexicans are now arriving illegally as I read in, if my memory serves me correctly, the NYT ( or it might have been the Wall Street Journal). It will only be a matter of time before American journalists and editors find themselves out of work, unless they are willing to take a 50% wage cut and give up their benefits, and speak fluent Spanish.
$200 Billion Dollars a year in suppressed American wages are caused
by the illegal aliens.
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0......
<http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0......
Continued...
Posted by Bettybb on March 16, 2008 at 8:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)
b)Are today's immigrants different from 100 years ago?
The rules started in the 20th century. We wiped out many diseases in the USA, including TB in many areas by having strict immigration laws. My son has now caught TB from illegal kids at school, county health said that TB had been eliminated for many years until the illegal aliens started to arrive. In the past illegals were rounded up and deported. There were at least 2 if not 3 major deportations.
In the 1950’s President Eisenhower, in 4 months, with 700 men, rounded up and deported 1.5 million Mexicans. But then, he had guts, was not afraid to be called a “nativist”, was a true American Patriot. and took his oath of office to protect our borders seriously. He made the experience as disagreeable as possible so they would
not come back. It worked.
All countries have quotas so that ALL AMERICANS have a roughly equal chance to bring in their family and race/ethnic group.
Mexico has twice the quota of other countries.
The Pew Hispanic Center says that at least 80% of illegals are Hispanic.
Any amnesty or guest worker program or special visa would give a huge PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT to Hispanics over all other Americans, in both number of people allowed in, and timing of their arrival.
Bush opened the southern border to promote integration of the two countries, thereby giving preference in ability to come in illegally to Hispanics, especially Mexicans. The airports were kept shut. And as the numbers show, it worked, the vast majority of illegals are Mexican. Check out the government report saying after 2000 our immigration laws basically ceased to be enforced ( it is either OMB or CBO report that came out about 2 years ago).
And all political parties want amnesty so they can be the champions of the new post integration enlarged voting block, therefore they are only giving lip service to immigration enforcement. No other race is being given the opportunity to increase their voting block through massive illegal immigration.
The US Constitution is quite clear. There is anti discrimination and an equal protection of the law clause. All Americans must be treated equally and there can be no racial preferences.
In a nutshell, those pushing for amnesty provisions, or special visas, or pathways, want to be able to place one group, illegal Hispanics, before all legal immigrants, all legal visa holders, all other legal guest workers, and before family reunification for all other races and ethnic groups.
That is not the American way. It is massive discrimination pure and simple, and totally racist.
Continued...
Posted by Bettybb on March 16, 2008 at 8:40 p.m. (Suggest removal)
But what would you expect from a people supported by a group called La Raza (THE Race) , as in the superior race, whose motto is "For The Race everything. Outside The Race, nothing.", and by a group MEChA who indoctrinates little kids in after school programs that the Hispanic blood is superior, America belongs to them as of right, and that all others should be killed.. yes, genocide, I kid you not. This group has chapters in most American Universities, and is all over the western USA.
http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/11/...
Professor Jose Angel Gutierrez, founder of La Raza Unida Party, Director of "Movimiento Latino USA de Los Angeles", has proudly said:“We have an aging white America…. They are dying…. They are **** in their pants with fear! I love it!” He then demands:“We have got to eliminate the gringo, and what I mean by that is if the worst comes to the worst, we have got to kill him.”
http://www.americanpatrol.com/REFERENCE/...
”One of America's greatest strengths has always been taking in immigrants from cultures around the world, and assimilating them into our country as Americans. By being citizens of the U.S. we are Americans first, and only, in our national loyalties.”
”This is totally opposed by MEChA for the hordes of illegal immigrants pouring across our borders, to whom they say:”
"Chicano is our identity; it defines who we are as people. It rejects the notion that we...should assimilate into the Anglo-American melting pot...Aztlan was the legendary homeland of the Aztecas ... It became synonymous with the vast territories of the Southwest, brutally stolen from a Mexican people marginalized and betrayed by the hostile custodians of the Manifest Destiny." (Statement on University of Oregon MEChA Website, Jan. 3, 2006)
MEChA isn't at all shy about their goals, or their views of other races. Their founding principles are contained in these words in "El Plan Espiritual de Aztlan" (The Spiritual Plan for Aztlan):
"In the spirit of a new people that is conscious not only of its proud historical heritage but also of the brutal gringo invasion of our territories, we, the Chicano inhabitants and civilizers of the northern land of Aztlan from whence came our forefathers, reclaiming the land of their birth and consecrating the determination of our people of the sun, declare that the call of our blood is our power, our responsibility, and our inevitable destiny.... Aztlan belongs to those who plant the seeds, water the fields, and gather the crops and not to the foreign Europeans.... We are a bronze people with a bronze culture. Before the world, before all of North America, before all our brothers in the bronze continent, we are a nation, we are a union of free pueblos, we are Aztlan. For La Raza todo. Fuera de La Raza nada
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php...
Continued....
Posted by Bettybb on March 16, 2008 at 8:44 p.m. (Suggest removal)
d)Why don't immigrants want to learn English
a.They intend the USA to become Spanish speaking.
b.They will not assimilate. There is a whole, non assimilation movement.Resist assimilation
http://poraqui.com/latinonews/index.cfm?...
McCain's Hispanic Outreach person was a Cabinet member in Mexico's Vicente Fox's government and is openly for reconquest of Southwest USA. Goody bye Texas. Some of his comments.
“I never knew the border as a limitation; I’d be delighted if all of us could come and go between these two marvelous countries.”
“We have recognized that the Mexican population is 100 million in Mexico and 23 million who live in the United States…We are a united nation.”
Mexican immigrants “are going to keep one foot in Mexico and are not going to assimilate.”
“We are betting that the Mexican population in the United States …will think Mexico first.”
The past three Presidents of Mexico have come to the USA and spoken to Hispanic Americans telling them that even if they have American citizenship, their first loyalty is to Mexico.
c.The Vietnamese came to the US and within 2 years, all spoke English (except the grandparents) and the kids were at the top of their class No bilingual Vietnamese/English education. Hispanics demand bilingual education, which effectively means, they want to be educated in Spanish and will not learn English. No other group coming to the USA is being catered to with bilingual classes. Many Russians arrived after the downfall of the Soviet Union. How many Russian/English bilingual schools were there?
d.The Vietnamese and many other legal immigrant groups work 2 jobs, and still learn English.
e.Governor Scwartzenegger told Hispanics to start to learn English, as studies showed they were way behind other immigrants in doing so, and he suggested they turn off the Spanish radio and TV and start associating with Americans not just with other Hispanics so they improve their English. A HUGE outcry of indignation from the Hispanic illegal aliens.
Continued....
Posted by Bettybb on March 16, 2008 at 8:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)
e) Are illegal immigrants taking American jobs?
Yes, in the agricultural, construction and service industries. They are now moving into transportation, trucking and freight loading companies. Just check the internet and boards for stories of American workers put out of work because an illegal comes along and will work at half the price, and not demand overtime. Or Americans are refused jobs on construction sites, or even McDonalds because they don’t speak Spanish and cannot communicate with the crew.
Also, see above for educated illegals arriving to take the jobs of middle class American. Don’t forget the H-1A visa. These are used by companies to bring in cheap educated labor, like computer scientists. These people are worked to death (18 hour days), and paid about ½ what an American would earn. Ask anyone in Silicon Valley involved in the computer industry. The “elite” bemoans the fact that American students are not getting degrees in computer science…duh. My kids and their friends all know there is no work for them as Americans in these fields. They are bright kids. They are not signing up for a degree that will result in a dead end job wise.
As for agricultural jobs, check out what the University of California at Davis, an ag school, and ex Senator Eugene McCarthy have to say, basically that the argument that business needs cheap labor for our nation to grow has been used time and time again in our history, including those opposed to the abolition of slavery and the termination of the Braceros program. Time and time again it has proved to be wrong.
As ex Senator Eugene McCarthy, on of the architects of the 1976 Immigration Law, has pointed out, it is technology and innovation that creates our economic wealth, not low skilled cheap labor. After the Bracero farm worker guest program was ended, prices did not rise as the naysayers had predicted; instead there was an increased use of mechanization. There is no reason to think the same would not happen again, given Europe's success with robotic use in bringing in crops.
Continued...
Posted by Bettybb on March 16, 2008 at 8:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)
f)Why doesn't the federal government arrest day-laborers waiting for work on the street, because so many of them are in the U.S. illegally?
Because the “elite” wants to integrate with Mexico. Bush has effectively stopped enforcement of our laws, and he cut back on the number of ICE agents assigned to deportation of illegals.
Bush opened the southern border to allow a flood of illegal immigrants in order to jump-start his agreement to integrate the US and Mexico in a North American Union with Canada.
Check Judicial Watch and www.stopnorthamericanunion.com websites and read the Bush government document that says that, as Americans will resist North American integration. it has to be done in secret, and implemented by "evolution stealth".
You can also read the actual agendas of meetings between USA/Mexico/Canada on infrastructure integration and open borders.
Read David Brooks', a columnist with New York Times, article in December 2007 furious because as he put it " the elite" had a bipartisan agreement for free trade and NAFTA that was raking in the money and Lou Dobbs, the anti illegal immigration advocate, screwed it up. He did not mention that the money goes to the "elite" and ordinary Americans are hung out to dry.
When President Calderon was here as part of Mexico's $25 million February propaganda effort to convince Americans to throw out the rule of law and grant amnesty, he made it clear that integration was going to occur so Americans better accept the idea.
All the various amnesty proposals are evolutionary stealth. So are our governments actions in stalling on the border Fence, refusing to enforce the employer law against hiring illegal aliens, shifting 1000 ICE agents away from deportation duty, building of the North American Highway, allowing Mexican Trucking into the USA despite a ban by Congress, promoting Spanish as a second language, installing trans border inspection stations in the US, removing 1/2 of the Border Patrol and all of the National Guard from the southern border and on and on.
This country still belongs to Americans, not to the politicians, not to big business, not the media. If there is to be a union with Canada and Mexico, it must be structured to benefit all Americans, and can only occur with a treaty ratification by Congress and American citizens’ consent each step of the way. It’s time to make “evolution stealth” a footnote in history.
http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/art......
http://www.snopes.com/politics/quotes/hi......
http://www.youtube.com/watch... NAFTA SUPER HIGHWAY & look at the report on real ID PSA
http://thenewamerican.com/node/7152
www.stopnorthamericanunion.com
Continued...
Posted by Bettybb on March 16, 2008 at 8:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)
g) Do illegal immigrants commit a disproportionate amount of crime, apart from the act of living in the U.S. illegally?
Every single illegal alien is a criminal for entering this country. Then there is the ID theft, the tax evasion, the driving without a license, the ignoring of court orders plus the gangs and Mexican Drug Cartel that they have brought with them. Even if 5% of our jails were filled with illegal aliens it would be too many.
'The Dark Side of Illegal Immigration: Nearly One Million Sex Crimes Committed by Illegal Immigrants In The United States '.
http://www.drdsk.com/articleshtml <http://www.drdsk.com/articleshtml>
During the year of 2005 there were 4 to 10 MILLION illegal aliens that crossed our Southern Border also, as many as 19,500 illegal aliens from Terrorist Countries. Millions of pounds of drugs, cocaine,meth, heroine and marijuana, crossed into the U. S from the Southern border.
Homeland Security Report: http://tinyurl.com/t9sht
<http://tinyurl.com/t9sht> ;
The illegal aliens in the United States have a crime rate that's two and a half times that of white non-illegal aliens. In particular,their children, are going to make a huge additional crime problem in the US
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0......
<http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0...... ;
30% percent of all Federal Prison inmates are illegal aliens. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0......
<http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0...... ;
$3 Million Dollars a DAY is spent to incarcerate illegal aliens.
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0......
<http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0...... ;
There was a TV program where law enforcement discussed the problem in LA. It is now totally controlled by the Mexican Drug Cartel. The police officer being interviewed repreated 3 times, that EVEN THE POLITICIANS are under the Cartel’s control. Hello, third world morality. Hello total government corruption. This is what we are looking forward to all over the USA.
The latest dodge – an American criminal, every time he has been caught has claimed to be an illegal alien, has been deported, then walked back into the USA with his American passport, thereby avoiding his jail sentence.
Continued...
Posted by Bettybb on March 16, 2008 at 9:14 p.m. (Suggest removal)
i)Are illegal immigrants contributing to the health care crisis?
The invasion of S. Carolina has just started. Wait until you are like CA with hospitals going bankrupt or Texas. Galvaston is talking about closing a cancer center because of non payment by illegals.
j)Do illegal immigrants pay taxes?
So what if they pay sales tax. The calculations show, that after all benefit they give to society is included, each illegal alien is subsidized to the tune of approximately $22,000 per year. Even the Congressional Budget Office reported that illegal aliens are a huge drain on our ecnomy. They said they could not estimate the amount; translation: Bush said don’t let the public know what these illegal aliens are really costing us.
According to Paul Samuelson, the economist, we must select mostly the best and the brightest to immigrate to the USA. They add more value to the economy then they take out. Then we can have a few low skilled immigrants who traditionally are a net drain on society for at least a generation until their offspring's education level rises to US levels. Other first world nations follow this pattern. Primarily low skilled immigration is the road to financial disaster.
Continued...
Posted by Bettybb on March 16, 2008 at 9:16 p.m. (Suggest removal)
So dishonest business wants cheap labor, and the Free Trade Cartel wants those huge profits. What is it doing to America?
1. If we gave all illegals amnesty/pathway/special visas, we would have to start paying THREE TIMES OUR TAXES, AT LEAST, right now, to pay for their 2.5 trillion unfounded entitlement in 20 years. See the Heritage Foundation report to Congress.
2. We spend so much money on illegal aliens right now, that we are not investing in our infrastructure or our schools. Other countries have remarked if the USA does not get this illegal immigration under control within 30 years we will be a third world nation, no benefits, crime, corruption, deteriorating, subpar infrastructure and undereducated citizens. Other first world countries go for immigrants who are the best and the brightest.
3. We are falling behind other first world countries in science and innovation. Business is using cheap taxpayer subsidized labor instead. Our resources are tied up feeding and raising anchor babies and illegal aliens instead of being used for our own people.
4. The best and brightest immigrants to the USA are starting to “boomerang”, go back to their home countries or other first world countries. The top US Universities have reported that it is harder to recruit the best in the world. The USA is slipping, fast.
5. Spanish will soon be the only language permitted in the USA if this illegal invasion continues. The goal for the Neo Cons and Dem leadership is North American integration for huge profits for the few. But Mexico has taught its people that historically, all of the USA belongs to Mexicans, not Americans, and they are determined to take it back.
Time is running out. If we do not act, we will lose our language, culture and nation.
All that will remain is to ask the last person in the country we once called America to lower the flag one last time.
The End
Posted by Law_Enforcer on March 16, 2008 at 9:42 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I like the FAQ , seems fair and balanced. I was reading the comments people were leaving and i started to laugh, I think they are watching too much Lou Dobbs, and I really don't know why do they have in their minds, probably a lot of hatred?
Anyway, there is no way to deport all these hard working people, sooner or later a real comprehensive immigration reform is going to pass and our country will be safer.
All of these anti-immigration folks (including our horrible Senator Jim DeMint) will have to get used to live with Pedro and Jose near them pretty soon.
ps. If you are going to reply to me please have some brains and dont back your points by bogus studies done by FAIR or other racist organization.
Posted by Jerry on April 11, 2008 at 3:10 p.m. (Suggest removal)
"26 ICE agents for all of South Carolina."
What are they doing? We need to be able to moniter them so we can be assured there is some statewide accountability.
Does South Carolina grant Drivers License to illegal immigrants" WHY WAS THIS NOT ASKED?
I am sure that is why the Federal Government will not accept a SC DL as an acceptible form of ID.
SC, stop pandering, stop being so sloppy!!
Posted by Jerry on April 28, 2008 at 5:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Law_Enforcer when you stated "I was reading the comments people were leaving and i started to laugh.. I really don't know why do they have in their minds"
You have NO credibility, you lost that when you have the name "Law_Enforcer" but yet YOU are selective on what law you would enforce.
Do you know why you no longer see "To Protect and Serve" on Law enforcement vehicles anymore? Because they don’t have time to serve. Law enforcement is now big business; if they don’t write enough tickets then they must reduce the forces.
You should be ashamed to call yourself "Law_Enforcer" that is what is called an "Oxymoron" and the obvious Truth lies in that word.
On whose ancestor’s blood and sweat built the infrastructure we call the United States of America.
"Illegal Alien" is breaking the law, and if you are not enforcing the law then you need to be selling shoes or doing something of value. Or either you should be getting your paycheck from La Raza [ the race ]
Posted by GoBoilers on June 16, 2008 at 11:24 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Check out the compelling article about Education and Immigration at:
http://www.beyondthemargin.net/