Although the leftist Center for American Progress's recent report about the cost of deporting illegal immigrants is largely based on imaginary and biased calculations, there is one interesting nugget of admission that rightists can latch onto (emphasis mine):
The study estimates that it would cost about $28 billion per year to apprehend illegal immigrants, $6 billion a year to detain them, $500 million for extra beds, $4 billion to secure borders, $2 million to legally process them and $1.6 billion to bus or fly them home.
$4 billion to secure the borders? That's not much at all; let's worry about the rest later and secure the borders right now.
As for the rest of the costs in the study, Representative Tom Tancredo's office had the best response.
Will Adams, a spokesman for Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.), an outspoken advocate of stronger immigration laws, called the study an "an interesting intellectual exercise" by liberals that is "useless . . . because no one's talking about" employing mass deportation as a tactic."No one's talking about buying planes, trains and automobiles to get them out of the country," Adams said. "The vast number of illegal immigrants are coming for jobs. Congressman Tancredo wants to go after the employers."
Cut off the demand for workers and the supply will dry up.
That's just so interesting that Republicans can't stand the thought of illegals taking American jobs and American charity, but the best way to stem the tide, other than enforcing borders is to shut down the job availability - and that would mean interfering with free business, free commerce - a Conservative Hallmark. Can they bite the bullet? Or will they realize they can't force workers not to cut their own pay margins without losing votes?
Sorry, I meant to say:
Or will they realize they can't force business owners to cut their own pay margins without losing votes? Meaning if business owners are making more profit by hiring cheaper workers, can Republicans force them to hire more expensive American workers?
Illegal immigrants will always come to America for work. They'll generally always find it in some form. Farm labor is not the typical American's idea of a good time.
I grew up on a farm, I will be working on a farm in the spring. I know of several farmers who hire illegal immigrants. If they didn't they simply wouldn't have workers.
Illegal immigrants often fill a need where the general American populace won't work. The need will always be there, and even if you could pass a magical law to stop all employers from hiring them they still would keep coming.
I personally have met illegal immigrants with driver's licenses. How is that possible? It's because the government is so incompetent at it's job that's how.
Quote: "Cut off the demand for workers and the supply will dry up."
What will you replace the illegal workers with? Couch potato Americans? I think not.(No I don't think all Americans are lazy, but a large majority.)
Generally I agree with you on many of your opinions, but practically (without some major changes and cash)you can't and won't the stop the flow.
PS. I wonder what they consider a "secure" border?
There are certainly big differences between illegal immigration and slavery in the South, but the same arguments seem to be made for illegal immigration as were made way make when.
Employing "cheap" labor isn't a "Conservative Hallmark". The last would seem to imply a free and fair market. In the current situation, employers can always threaten to call the BICE on unruly employees, and none of those employers pay the complete social costs of their labor: schooling, emergency rooms, housing assistance, college education assistance, welfare for the old folks they bring in on family reunification, etc. etc.
Please, stop ripping the rest of us off.
Republicans can't stand the thought of Illegals taking jobs because....they are ILLEGAL. Dumbocrats are ridiculous! Of course I don't want to pay for illegals health care and other services. There is no problem with LEGAL immigrants taking the jobs, paying them wages based on skills. I cannot comprehend how you or anyone else can justify illegal immigrants for any reason....they are illegal.
Legal immigrants could and most likely would fill the jobs that are needed if the path to legal status was easier or at least quicker. I don't care how much you want to accept the world's poor, we are burdening the systems to point of exhaustion because they aren't following the rules and the law abiding have to pay for it.
Tell France, Australia, Canada, or any other 1st world country to take em! They want to build a socialist utopia and see how it bankrupts the system.
Flying Squirrel: The farmers you mention would have to pay American workers higher wages, which would then increase the price of food. That price increase would still be much less than the price of educating and medicating all those illegal immigrants.