Most illegal workers in the US are Mexicans who mow lawns, clean motel sheets, butcher hogs, pick strawberries, and otherwise toil away at tasks that, as George W. Bush once said, “Americans won’t do.” And they often are paid less than the minimum wage.
A widely held assumption in Washington’s debate about immigration is that native-born Americans avoid menial and dirty work. Laid-off autoworkers wouldn’t really wash dishes at a Denny’s or milk cows on a dairy farm, would they? Such a notion has long helped justify a flow of foreign workers into the US – or possibly an amnesty for those hiding from the law.
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With people desperate for income, downward mobility may be on the way up.
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Maybe it’s a myth that Americans won’t take certain jobs. In fact, a study by the Center for Immigration Studies used 2005-07 data to look at 465 occupations. Only four had a majority of immigrants in them.
I found that that they won’t even talk to you (in English) if you weren’t ‘illegal’ or otherwise… I finally gave up asking.
I really needed a job then.
#19–Brian==“Not everything in the world can be laid at the feet of evil American business.” /// No, but illegals being hired in the USA is COMPLETELY AT THE FEET OF EVIL AMERICAN BUSINESSES. Thanks for trying to hide the ball. I wonder what motivates you to do that?
#18 The hiring of illegals was done mainly by repug types. The political exploitation of illegals was done by lefty loons like you. Keep playing the “anybody that bad talks lefty loons is a repuke” game. It only makes you look worse.
#19 I understand you. There are people that avoid hiring illegals. But you have to accept that there are major corps. hiring illegals.
The behaviour you describe is typical of illegals. They tend to protect their own. But then, who let them in? Illegals hiring illegals alone does not create the huge problem illegal immigration has become.
23 pedro,
” The political exploitation of illegals was done by lefty loons like you.”
You mean the exploitation politically by trying to make them legitimate? Yeah, that’s really wrong. Unfortunately, the Republicans don’t want them politically legal since that makes them economically unfeasible. Hell, even your Lord and Saviour GW Bush wanted to legitimize them…
Open border for business? Check. Open borders for people? Uncheck.
Knowing the system as the neighbor to one of the highest illegal hiring employers in my county of New York this is how they get away with doing it. These are the words from the owners of the business, along with state and local officials. The business is a huge dairy farm with over 2000-3000 head being milked 24/7.
There are actually services in the US which get these illegal aliens for the farm when they need a new worker. So when one worker gets in trouble with local, state, or federal officials and gets shipped back home, they are often replaced within 24-48 hours.
The farm pays the workers with Walmart Gift Cards in which being a farm they can get tax exempt and as a business expense, not just cash under the table. The employees are given farm vehicles with farm registrations to drive for shopping and buying living supplies. Yep double dipping the system.
The farm has a trailer still on its wheels hooked up behind the barns to the main farm houses septic system and they get their water from garden hoses. Electrical is through extension cords to the farm work shop behind adjacent to the trailer. I checked with the local officials and turns out the farm never applied for any permits for this property upgrade either.
After corresponding with local and state officials who all knew about what is happening up at the farm, they confirmed that they refuse to do anything about it. Their reason was, and I quote, “There is no reason for us to get involved with the operations of a local business until there is a situation that forces our hands into the matter.” In other words they won’t do their jobs until they are forced to.
Needless to say I am sickened by the disgusting behavior of this business owner, which is one of the biggest reasons I have been supportive of a new taxation system such as a fair tax system. It would remove the exemption status of the farm and force the business and the illegals to begin paying fair taxes like the rest of us legal citizens.
#25–Nitro==good start but you finish by focusing on a fair tax system to access the illegals revenue stream???
Hah, hah. Yea, that was the main thing.
Business Owners are screwing the illegals, what a joke.
The AMERICAN consumer is screwing the business owner.
Who here would pay $10/quart for strawberries that were picked in the USA by a legal citizen, making at least min. wage? Not many, most would buy the $4/quart strawberries from a Central American country paying less to there workers then what illegals get here.
We have no idea what jobs American’s won’t do, because the minimum wage laws make many of them illegal.
Illegal for you to work, because you’re not allowed to accept lower than minimum wage.
#22 Bobbo
So by telling my story about illegals hiring other illegals I am hiding a ball? Man that is a stretch.
Reading comprehension is a good thing, look into it.
Or is it easier for you just start yelling as usual?
27, Mybits
If only shipping costs were reflected in the cost of the product from foreign markets… wait! They’re all basically slave ships now, aren’t they? No more merchant navies…
I love how every post here turns into a left vs. right yelling match.
When will you learn they are all on the same team? You waste all your time yelling and miss that both parties have sold us out.
31 Brian,
Don’t you also find it delicious that the whole “right / left” meme is a hold over from the French Revolutionary times?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left-right_politics
What about those who OUTSOURCE? Isn’t that in this vein? Or at least similar? Why pay someone $xx.00/hr when you can get the whole project done for $yy.00 in total? Yes, the work is shoddy, and it takes 12days to do the what should take 2, but its less than HALF the cost, and NO Benefits need be given!
#24 Yeap, fastracking their citizenship in excahnge for votes you didn’t have before. Thanks for confirming this as correct.
#25 Not only the bussiness owner, but the officials that care not about their duty. Fine example of why the problem has scalated to its current proportions
#32 So that’s why your rationale is so dated. No wonder.
34, pedro,
“Yeap, fastracking their citizenship in excahnge for votes you didn’t have before. Thanks for confirming this as correct.”
And they become legitimate members of society and economically unexploitable. What a tragedy! And like I said, your God Bush tried it too…
Sorry you don’t know history. It’s an important subject. You’ll learn a lot by reading it. I don’t you have the capability though. You’re an idiot, afterall…
#35 Good to know you support the illegal alien industrial complex. Tell me, how many human trafficking gangs do you directly support?
#28 for the win
The minimum wages damages the economy on the very low end, making many industries effectively illegal.
Hence, illegal workers to do work that doesn’t pay high enough.
The catastrophic damage is, however, industries that could be legitimate and require intensive labor go to Mexico due to NAFTA instead of being done in the USA.
Think of the many different manufacturers that have moved to Mexico (GM has plants down there, so does everyone).
The minimum wage is artificial, if you are college educated you wouldn’t be doing a low end job anyway, so the effect of the minimum wage is mostly to drive sub-minimum wage jobs into some other country or make them an illegal immigrant magnet.
“Illegal” jobs don’t pay taxes, by the way.
Nor obviously do the jobs moved to some other country pay taxes to the USA.
Try to find a wastewater or water operator for a small town legal or illegal.
The American republic was built on slavery. I guess hiring illegals is the next best thing. Some things never change.
So how to find a solution to this?
Well, there are two sides. The employer who cannot afford to pay even minimum wage so they look to illegal immigrants that will work for below MW.
Then you have the workers that need to make at least MW to even get by. Plus, even at minimum wage, they can barely get by. So their options are: Work and barely get by or be on welfare and barely get by. Not much incentive to work.
So instead of welfare, why not supplement the employer to be able to hire legally? There has to be some way of doing this that can minimize corruption.