Associated Press – November 8, 2007:
Founded 240 years ago, this sleepy Texas town along the Rio Grande has outlasted the Spanish, then the Mexicans and then the short-lived independent Republic of Texas. But it may not survive the U.S. government’s effort to secure the Mexican border with a steel fence.
A map obtained by The Associated Press shows that the double- or triple-layer fence may be built as much as two miles from the river on the U.S. side of the Rio Grande, leaving parts of Granjeno and other nearby communities in a potential no-man’s-land between the barrier and the water’s edge.
Local residents, many of whom have put “No Border Wall” signs on their cars and in their yards, say they have been assured they will be compensated at fair market value for any property taken by the U.S. government. But that has not given them much comfort.
#19 – You can’t see the problem…?
Christ people… what is wrong with you people?
Question is will it keep the zombies at bay
19 – Aerow
Few people will argue that illegal immigration is not a problem, because it is, from a purely ‘legal’ standpoint.
But it is one of the minor problems that our country is experiencing. The illegal immigration issue has become a tool by special interest groups to distract the masses from the real problems that the USA is experiencing.
If you look at the expenditures that are made to support illegal immigrants in this country, they are a minuscule part of the overall budget of the USA, not reaching even 1% of expenditures. While we are distracted about that, billions are spent weekly ‘rebuilding’ other countries. Billions are lost to offshoring. Billions are lost due to our crummy health care policies for American citizens. Tens of Billions are lost to imports due to a lack of a national energy policy. And foremost an illegal drug policy that refuses to make this country look at itself in the mirror (we are the consumers)
The illegal immigrant issue is a distraction tool, kept on the forefront by forces that don’t want you to think about the bigger issues, such as crumbling infrastructure, crappy education for the masses, complete loss of industrial competitiveness, etc.
Aside from all that, studies prove over and over that illegal immigrants, if you just consider their contributions in the agricultural sector, contribute far more than they cost in terms of real dollars. How much do you think lettuce and strawberries would cost were it not for the low cost labor that these people provide? Multiply that by virtually every crop and see what you come up with.
One last thing… do you really think that a crummy fence will keep a determined terrorist out, when 100′s of thousands of ignorant peasants bypass the existing fences yearly. The fence is a useless ‘symbol’, just like taking away your nail clippers at the airport is (was?) a useless symbol used to reassure the ignorant.
Texas. Whatta ya expect?
But while we’re at it, I will again express my unpopular view on immigration. Simply put, if you are not Native American, you have absolutely no right to throw or keep anyone out of the country.
Yes, the United States of America was stolen, fair and square by disease spreading, slave owning, albeit very smart, crackers.
Remember the Alamo!
#23 – Thanks Awake… That was very well said.
#23 very elequent but also all WRONG go ask California what it is costing them to keep the Illegals healthy and housed on our tax dollars
Name 1 only 1, study that shows low paid illegals ( who send the majority of there money home to Mexico) actually contribute more in taxes than they take out ( another pulled it out of your ass fact from nowhere )
And as for the fence I want to keep illegals out first, then we can worry about the terrorists.
#26 – And as for the fence I want to keep illegals out first, then we can worry about the terrorists.
Every knowledgeable person already knows your wrong, so I don’t care to debate you and your immovable position, but…
I’m already painting placards that say PMitchell is weak on terrorism!
27. “I’m already painting placards that say PMitchell is weak on terrorism!”
hahahahhahahahahahahah, nice twist o’ the knife!
Here’s an idea. Take Texas’ southernmost point, then build the fence straight across from there.
27. I have to add, grudgingly that I do agree with Congressman Wannabe on this one. I will go kill myself now. Banzai!
#30 – I’m painting placards that say Mark supports suicide!
#6 pMitchell -
Again you are uninformed, repeating figures that are made up by people like you with an agenda, namely making nationalism and racism a the primary issue in voter’s minds.
Arizona is one of the states most affected by Illegal immigration.
A 2004 study of Arizona on this topic can be summarized to:
Based on this study, the total state tax revenue attributable to immigrant workers was an estimated $2.356 billion ($862.1 million for naturalized citizens plus $1.49 billion for non-citizens). Balanced against estimated fiscal costs of $1.414 billion (for education, health care and law enforcement), the net 2004 fiscal impact of immigrants in Arizona was positive by $942 million.
source: http://udallcenter.arizona.edu/programs/immigration/publications/immigrants_in_arizona.judith_gans.july2007.pdf
If that statement is hard to read, it basically said that about $1 billion more was collected than spent by immigrants.
That does not include the $200 billion that Social Security is holding in funds that have been collected against illegal immigrants but that are not due back for payment.
Neither does it include the indirect benefits in lowered costs to US citizens in the costs of consumer goods (specially agricultural) or increased exports due to lowered costs.
So there is ONE study, like you requested, that proves you wrong.
It is actually people like you, searching to scapegoat their problems on others, that seem to constantly pull figures out of their ass.
In Germany, the malcontent blamed the Jews for all their problems.
In America, the malcontent blame the immigrants for all their problems.
In both cases, it is just plain a case of being a racist and disguising yourself as a patriot.
Right, I think its time for y’all, as a nation to decide: do you want to be xenophobic and go back to the days of isolationism where you didn’t bother about anywhere outside of the US, or do you want to take over the world. Because you can’t have it both ways….
You know, 2000 years ago, the Romans built Hadrian’s wall without even having electricity. It was awesome.
And now the best we can do is these crappy jumpable little fences?
#34 – If we simply captured the immigrants and enslaved them, we could build walls like the Romans or the Chinese…
Slave labor is cost effective.
Some historians reckon that slave labour is more expensive than wage labour, because you have to feed and shelter them year round…. which is why slavery was eventually abolished…. (well, that and the very hard work of various anti-slavery groups)
The REAL problem is that Big Business with help from the Bush Regime, is shipping off all the jobs to the Communist Chinese. Now mexican factories are closed down and they’re coming HERE to work.
Thanks Nixon, you a-hole. If you would have left the commies along in 72, their dictatorship would have collapsed by now, but you’ve unintentionally created a Chinese empire, thanks a lot.
#23, Awake,
How much do you think lettuce and strawberries would cost were it not for the low cost labor that these people provide? Multiply that by virtually every crop and see what you come up with.
Isn’t that the same argument used by Wal-Mart (and others) to justify sourcing from China? Just ask all the unemployed textile workers how much they are saving.
Illegal immigration is not THE problem. You are quite correct. They are part of the overall problem though that has gripped this country since about 1980. There has been a gradual marginalizing of the middle class workers with the power shifting to the employers and large corporations. The larger the labor force, the less wages need to be paid. Only this philosophy has eroded the domestic customer base.
It is time for Americans to take back our country.
# 32 touche’ I am going to have to read and study your document in total.
I still say if we remove the illegal immigrants, the so called big business will have to pay a market wage for the labor that the illegals skew down and in doing so we solve the min wage issue and the immigration issue.
the Illegals don’t do work American wont do they do work Americans wont do for that wage
>How much do you think lettuce and strawberries would cost were it not for the low cost labor that these people provide?
One study estimated that lettuce would go up about 5 cents a head. I’m in horror at the prospect.
As for the study that Arizona nets one billion, most of those studies tend to conflate legal immigrants and illegal immigrants where ever convenient.
Even if the study is right, and Arizona gains one billion dollars from illegal immigrants, that’s less than one half of one percent of the state economy, and for this people have to accept all these cultural changes?