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Law on illegal immigration touted
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It would be great if the Senator would also create a working migrant worker visa to put into his bill. There are actually several things that could help this along but I worry a real ham-handed approach will have dramatic affect on both sides: dramatically drop the number and scope of illegal immigration, and with no visa solution dramatically hit our already very wobbly economy.
Who knows.
It is going to happen!!!!
Like procreation, seeking a better life for oneself and one's family is pretty much hard-wired.
Passing laws and building walls ain't gonna work any better than "just say no."
Please please please, someone in government begin addressing the issue as it actually exists.
Don't continue the idiotic game of casting it in black & white terms such as good v. bad, us v. them, humans v. "illegals."
Is that asking too much?????
Our nation is a nation of laws that must be obeyed.
If we continue to allow illegals to get through the cracks, our society will be completely changed in the next generation. It will be the ruin of American society as we know it.
Thanks you Rep Hickman !!
If the lawmakers in Washington will not do their jobs, then our state leaders must have laws that force the issue is legal entry into this country.
I totally support our state creating laws such as were enacted Oklahoma.
Exploitation is no less than slavery ( wasn't that fixed in the Constitution ?)
Trust me, I have a little experience in this area as an immigration attorney. I've seen what the "illegals" are making and I have yet to find an undocumented worker who was making less than minimum wage. In fact, most of them make decent money.
Moreover, there is a good chance that any such law passed by a state is unconstitutional since issues of border security are the explicit purview of the Federal Gov't.
I must admit, however, that everytime I read the comments from the immigrant bashers it gives me a warm fuzzy feeling to know that I'm helping dozens of undocmented workers to stay here and even get legal.
We need our Federal Government to act. Or we will be forced to break the law to enforce the laws. Because any law passed by the states will be unconstitutional.
We have a real problem and what we need are real solutions. But amnesty or massive deportations are not the solution we need. UNCLE SAM!!! PLEASE ACT
NOBODY can afford to live in this nation at minimum or sub minimum wages; much less support a family.
So while the employer may enjoy cheaper labor costs, we ALL pay for it indirectly: higher medical bills due to unpaid ER visits; higher auto insurance due to uninsured motorists; reduced property values when 3 or 4 illegal alien families share--and destroy--a home and don't keep up the yard; high crime; higher educational costs for ESL; and on and on.
We'd all be better off paying the TRUE market cost of labor. Most studies I've seen, for example, indicate that doubling the cost of farm labor only raises the cost of fruits and veggies 10% or so since the labor represents a small fraction of the total cost of the product.
But even if costs did go up more, we could at least make informed decisions. It is impossible now to see how my choices of vegetables might drive the market for illegal aliens, and hence affect the costs mentioned above. But if Avocados cost twice as much, I might decide to buy something else to eat.
OR, I might decide that it is worth it to me to pay twice as much for avocados and I might reduce expenses elsewhere. Either way, the cost of something helps me make informed decisions about whether to buy it.
People saving a few percent on labor building million dollar homes in gated communities may not care so much about crime in ungated communities. People spending the weekend at high end ski resorts are thrilled to save a couple of dollars on their housekeeping or food service bill and probably don't have children attending over-crowded Utah schools anyway. I do my own yard work and don't really care if those who are so flush as to hire it out see costs go up. We watch our children and do our laundry. I don't care if nannies and housekeepers get more expensive.
I'm tired of subsidizing the wages of illegal aliens with a thousand and one hidden taxes and lifestyle reductions.
I will HAPPILY pay more for fruits and veggies and rare construction service I have done if that is what it takes to reduce crime and keep our ERs from looking like the 3rd world.
Let's look seriously at child labor laws as well. There is a HUGE difference between a kid in some sweat shop or coal mine 60 hours a week and a young person working in a restaurant a couple nights a week, even if he happens to work past 9:00. Like he'd be at home in bed ANYWAY. Better to be at work, than roaming around the streets.
After school and summer jobs were once an important part of growing up, learning a work ethic. The kids get health care and other expenses met by parents most often. AND, rather than sending large portions of their earnings out of the country, they either save or spend the money HERE at home.
But child labor laws have gone over board.
It is now safer, legally speaking, to hire an illegal alien than it is to hire someone under 18 years of age. ICE is a joke. The guys who enforce child labor laws take no prisoners.
AILA Member, $10-15 per hour is below subsistence wage in Utah for a family of three, and requires taxpayer subsidy. I am also wondering if it is fair for employers to hire illegal aliens and not pay SSI, taxes, or Workman's Comp. since a social security number would be required, while his honest competitor must hire legal workers and pay these costs?
What section of the U.S. Constitution puts the "entire" responsibility of enforcing immigration and work eligibility on the Federal Government? Would it be Article I Section 8 that requires the Federal Government to provide for defense and protect us from invasion?
Also ask those in law enforcement. How many accidents have involved illegal aliens who do not have insurance. They'll tell you there are a large number.
You're enjoying it because you're making a very nice living off the backs people that have been breaking the law.
it is the illegal immigration that people oppose.
AGAINST the LAW!!!
The last word is, illegal aliens are...
ILLEGAL!!!
If we legalize all illegal immigrants, why would those agricultural workers stay and work in the field, when they can now go and get a job that would pay more and have much, much better working conditions.
We would still need people to work in the fields, and even if they paid a lot better I don't think most americans would be willing to work under such harsh conditions. Those immigrants do it because that's as good as it gets for them. But I think that if they could get out, they would!
And to anyone having a job with harsh conditions. I commend you.
Like someone said here. Explotation is not better than Slavery.
We need a "REAL SOLUTION" and we need it now!!!
The Work Visas have not worked properly. That can be improved a lot.
And yes! there are other places other than agriculture where there are undocumented aliens working there. Like fast-food restaurants. But there are not many people other than immigrants who are eager to work in those places.
But how do we draw the line between, which jobs are good enough for us and which ones are not and immigrants can have them. Like agriculture or fast-food, etc.
The FEDS have to come up with something and it better be good!!!
It is simple:
We have a process that albeit is slow is still functional. We can't simply break it or ignore it for our own selfish reasons. Yes, illegals are just that by working in concert with business to profit at the expense of the law biding citizen.
Deportation is a first step to send a message to the coyotes that the door is closed on both ends - corporate and the border. Mexico's greatest asset is illegal workers sending billions of US dollars south without being taxes or reinvesting in America.
Corporations are profit sharing with the executives not the law bidding middle class citizen. It is the truth...illegals are not playing by the rules and that makes you a cheater!
So, what kind of message are we sending our future leaders/children of America? The ends justify the means -play fair only when it benefits you?
Take back Ameirca "one state at a time" and make the illegals stand in line like the rest of us.
Heck! We probably loose more jobs to China and Asia than we do to illegals. We can solve the illegal immigration problem but we can still loose many companies to China.
I've been looking at the presidential candidates and pay close attention to the ones that pay attention to that issue. We need someone that will help american companies compete in the world and yet stay in america and help the average american not loose their jobs to china.
Our problem is bigger than just illegals. If we get them all out, they'll leave what? the farm, fast-food, landscape jobs. But we'll still loose american manufactures to china. (Manufactures companies request most of them a background check which most illegal can't pass because they don't have documentation).
I don't see that we can afford to have both open boarders and broad spectrum welfare programs.
I feel sorry for the illegals--but America just doesn't have the resources to care for all of the world's poor & needy, and we certainly can't assimulate them into our economy at the current rates of cross-boarder migration.
Tough laws need to put in place to slow the transfer of Mexico's unskilled and under-educated--they sure aren't sending us their engineers & doctors!
Somehow, some way, the ILLEGAL ALIENS have got to learn that to enter this Country is a PRIVILEGE. It is NOT a right. No ILLEGAL ALIEN has the right to be in this Country!
I hope that soon all 50 States will step up to the plate and do what our Federal Government has FAILED to do...GET RID OF THE ILLEGAL ALIENS!
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If some people are allowed to violate immigration laws, please tell me which laws I can violate. Can I quit paying taxes? Ignore traffic laws? Become a polygimist? Steal my neighbor's car? Either everyone obeys all the laws, or there is no point having any of them.
Thank you, Senator Hickman for daring to do the right thing and help end this rampant crime wave of illegal immigration.