A State Border Patrol Wouldn’t Be Out of Bounds An interesting article (unfortunately only found on the LA Times with hokey registration required) about how California is thinking about it’s own border patrol and INS.

Although many get dinged for federal Social Security taxes, it’s not logical they’re paying much in state and local taxes. They may get tapped through rents for some property taxes. But with low wages, it’s doubtful they owe state income tax. And their meager discretionary income means they can’t be buying a lot, so the sales tax they pay is minimal.

Moreover, based on Pew research, illegal immigrants in California are sending at least $4.3 billion back to their native countries %u2014 primarily Mexico %u2014 rather than spending it here.

Liberals who close their eyes to illegal immigration point out that it benefits consumers by keeping down prices for vegetables and fruits and %u2014 they’d like us to believe %u2014 restaurant meals and hotel rooms. But it also depresses wages and benefits, and leads to exploitation of workers.

Evidence of that was found by the Pew center: Latinos %u2014 mostly new immigrants %u2014 accounted for 1 million of the 2.5 million American jobs created in 2004. But Latinos are the only major group of workers to have suffered a two-year decline in wages and now earn 5% less than two years ago.

This suggests, the center continued, “that they are competing with each other in the labor market to their own detriment.”