Let's discuss illegal immigrants and their effect on our employment rates. What are some of the consequences of cracking down on people who hire these employees? For them? For the immigrants?

I believe the government should crack down on people who hire illegal immigrants, since the promise of jobs is what draws the illegals to come here. And I believe there are laws on the books already to do this, but no one will enforce them. The Republicans see the illegals as a source of cheap labor, and the Democrats see them as potential votes, so neither party will get behind this.

The consequences of doing this? I believe it would certainly improve the employment picture for our citizens, which is pretty dismal right now. And the illegals, if forced to stay in their own country, might even force some reforms in their own government and economy.

The illegal immigrants do jobs that we do not want to do. These individuals are generally low-skilled workers looking for a way to enter the US. If we do not give them jobs who will do the work they do?

I've never known this to be true. Of course when illegals are here and willing to work for next to nothing, there will always be employers who will hire them just to save money. But if the illegals weren't here, the jobs would still get done, employers just might have to pay a decent wage.

And besides the argument about these types of jobs, many other jobs are now being affected. I am amazed at how many job postings in my area now prefer, or even require, that applicants be bi-lingual, since there are so many illegals here you will have to deal with them no matter what your job is.

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It has been observed that at the same time people are (*)(*)(*)(*)(*)ing and moaning about unemployment there are many illegal immigrants here filling a need. I suggest that some of the inner city, impoverished etc. types would better themselves by taking on one of those jobs.

FYI, it isn't beneath me or even others I know...I know an engineer at Boeing, has a masters degree, worked at McDonalds until he got his BA. You can't tell me that only illegal immigrants will work there.

The problem with the presence of them is that they skew the market. Their presence drives up the labor supply yet the demand for their labor remains flat. Guess what, that depresses wages. So, the job becomes less attractive to those already here and attractive perhaps only to them...shouldn't be that way but it is. Simple supply and demand.

That doesn't answer the question of whether the artificial construct of a sovereign border that these poor people have nothing to do with justifies keeping them out. That, IMHO, is the real question, as no doubt our economy would be better off and the legal residents better off by excluding them...

The only way that this statement is true is:

1) the jobs that they do that we will not are jobs where the worker's not in a
position to require FICA and other tax deductions;

2) the jobs that they do that we will not are jobs where the worker's not in a position to require or demand basic benefits;

3) the jobs that they do that we will not are jobs where the worker's not in a position to complain about OSHA violations.

....etc like that.

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Unfortunately, alot of that maybe true. But they do fight for better working conditions. They've been doing it for years, I'm sure you've read about Cesar Chavez. That fight continues today. I read about it all the time in california.

And I've never met an American who say that they are jealous and upset that some is taking away their jobs in the fields. Have you?

-Demosthenes

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"A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both."
- Dwight D. Eisenhower

Not only are they advocating better working conditions (something which no one can fault them for doing), but they are also one pandering politician away from qualifying for full government benefits. Eventually someone will see this issue as a way to buy Hispanic votes and then our working poor government services burden will rise consdierably. By this, I mean that the working poor suck a lot more from the system in terms of benefits than they contribute in the form of taxes. If you add 10 or 15 million to the working poor, then its going to cost you and me either hundreds of billions per year in additional taxes or in less government services for our citizens.

Either way, its not worth cheap labor to pick fruit, clean offices and to cut grass.

Then who is going to perform these jobs if not illegal immigrants? Americans don't want them, and those jobs still need to get done. No matter how you feel about illegal immigrants, they are a necessary part of the system. It just doesn't work as well without them. And they may be more of a burden on our Gov't, but our society as a whole is making alot more money off of them than they are off of us.

-Demosthenes

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"A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both."
- Dwight D. Eisenhower

A lot of the agricultural work can be automated.

12 year olds can start cutting the grass again. It would do them some good to stop eating Doritos, put down the Nintendo and get some fresh air for once.

As far as who will clean the office buildings, I don't have all the answers.