Immigration in the USA: I Just Don't Get It
July 18, 2007

Immigration agents arrest Mexicans at work sites and put them in jail or send them back to Mexico. Why would they do that? If they are working then they are doing what we want (and need) people to be doing in America - working to make our economy stronger. If you want to throw people out of the country, wouldn't it make more economic sense to arrest people at welfare offices?

A good friend of mine had a pool construction business on Long Island for thirty years. He says he could not have had that business without employing illegal immigrants. "They were good people, honest and hard working - and they learned quickly. In thirty years I might have gotten half dozen US citizens to apply for a job with me. Without these guys, I would have had to shut down my business."

The ostensible rap against illegal immigrants is that they are bad for the economy. But that doesn't hold water. Every study I've ever seen on the subject demonstrates that they are a net positive - to the US economy and to the countries from which they come. Even on the face of it, the economic model makes no sense. These people are coming here to work. Isn't that a good thing? Some critics say that they take advantage of our social services - thus causing an economic burden that isn't accounted for. That is certainly true, but that's an argument for legalizing and taxing them, not for sending them away.

One argument against immigration that I seldom hear is the cultural one: we don't want more Mexicans (or Africans or Haitians) in our country because of the effect they may have on our culture. The effect we worry about is not so much adding new exotic dishes to the developing New American Cuisine but the more obnoxious traits of third-world citizens, such as getting drunk on cheap alcohol, hacking people up with machetes and urinating in public places. There is no evidence that illegal immigrants engage in these sorts of reprehensible behaviors any more than citizens do, but there is that perception. If that's the real problem - and I think it is - we should have the courage to talk about it. I don't want anybody urinating in my town or coming after me with a machete. I'll be the first one to say it. Let's strike some sort of deal: if you can come into this country and be productive without doing any of these odious things, you can work here on a permit which can and will be revoked the first time we see you staggering down Main Street with a machete.

posted by M. Masterson @ 2:19 PM,

5 Comments:

At 8:28 PM, Anonymous Petra said...

This is really a very interesting theme to write about.
And I absolutely agree with you.
In my home country, many people from Eastern countries like Poland, Russia and Hungaria, but also Portugal, Spain and Italy came over the boarders to work in Germany. In times of "Economic Miracles", we would not have been very successful without this people. And as you said, they were all reliable, learning quickly and hard workers.
The only thing I find to be problematical is - as it is usually - money.

These people were very economic. They saved as much money as they could. And then, they sent it to their families in their countries. So the money earned in Germany, wasn't spent their. And spending money is the best way to make a country grow. So there was a gap between the money that was meant to be spent in Germany and the money that was actually spent, which had a negative aspect in the economy of the country.

Meanwhile it is different and I am very happy about that. I used to live in "Portugues Quarter", which was very nice. There was even a little portuguese Grocery Shop, that enriched the area with portuguese delicacies, which are great.

But unfortunately another problem occured: Kindergarten and Grammar School. I was a huge amount of children with another mother language than German. Even more a problem: most of their parents did not send their children to Kindergarten, where they easily would have learned German. So when all these children met with the German ones at school, half of the class was not able to understand what the teachers said. That caused many delays in the schools course of instruction. Children being taught in schools with a high rate of foreign children can not compete with the ones with a low rate or without children unable to speak German. That caused some infuriation to the parents as you can imagine and so on and so on...

As far as I can see, there is always more than one aspect to be considered. Me personally, I embrace "Multi-Culti" in a country. This is also one of the reasons I chose to live in Australia now.

I always felt enriched by the many cultures that live in my home town and who am I to blame people that want the best for their families and for themselves. Especially now that I am an immigrant myself.

I could tell you some stories about that! But maybe another day. Gotta work on my career now. :-)

 
At 9:31 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I completely agree with you. There's all this fuss about illegals, and there must be something I'm not getting. It's not realistic to try to deport them, as our borders aren't prepared to keep them from coming back in. The recent case of the two border patrol agents who were jailed because they shot an unarmed drug dealer in the butt further takes any kind of "teeth" out of trying to defend the borders.

So, my point is, since these people are here anyway, let's find a way to make them citizens, for crying out loud. One doesn't have to be much of an economist to realize that if they're here illegally, they're being paid wages "under the table." If we legalize them, they'll be taxed, just like any other citizen. So, rather than being a drain on the system, they'll be contributing to the system.

Look, all of our ancestors came to this country from somewhere else. So, we feel all secure, that we're entitled to live here, but hispanics aren't. That's not right, much less fair. We need to spend our time finding a way to bring these folks into compliance.

And I agree, citizenship is a privilege, not a right. If they come here and break the laws, send 'em packing back to their own countries. Even deny them entry if they have a criminal history, if you want to. That makes sense. But to deport who knows how many millions of illegals, is a complete waste of resources, not to mention a losing battle.

 
At 7:47 AM, Anonymous Petra said...

You take the words right out of my mouth!
And what you say is not only right for America (although I must admit that the US have other "problems" than other countries), but for every country that thinks of itself as being "progressive".

I appreciate your opinion and would like to have it spread all over the world, to make it a better place, where people are valued for what they give and achieve instead of the country or culture they come from or even worse their colour.

 
At 2:13 AM, Blogger Willem said...

Immigration has become a hot topic around the world. Has all kinds of loaded emotions, which politicos translate to absurd rules and actions. Measured by work ethic and actual productivity the great majority of immigrants would rank very high; not all, no. Meanwhile the actions taken by governments and their bureaucrats are costly (make no economic sense, cf Michael's point). They also dehumanize all of us. We can surely do better -- in human AND economic terms?

 
At 11:43 PM, Anonymous Northern Observer said...

I am a Canadian observer to all of this rhetoric concerning 'Illegal Immigrants' but I am amazed at how many Americans just don't 'get it'

Illegal is Illegal. You don't know what you are getting. With Legal Immigrants your country chooses who they let in.

Believe me you are creating a Hornets nest which will sting you badly in the future if you do not filter through the illegals and get rid of the undesirables.

I have observed similar problems arise in many countries over my 75 years of life and the Illegals will expect you to change to suit them, they will not change to suit you. So be warned or suffer the consequences.

Northen observer.

 

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