Thread: Brokaw On Immigration: Neither Wall, Nor US Teens At $16/HR,

http://newsbusters.org/node/9830

Brokaw On Immigration: Neither Wall, Nor US Teens At $16/HR, Will Work
Posted by Mark Finkelstein on December 26, 2006 - 08:11.

Appearing on this Boxing Day edition of the Today show to plug tonight's airing of "In the Shadow of the American Dream," the latest in the “Tom Brokaw Reports” series, the former Nightly News anchor offered a variety of views on the subject of illegal immigration straight out of the amnesty-crowd playbook.

View video here.

Annotated excerpts:

"It's not going to work to send everybody back."

Why not? And if sending illegals home isn't the solution, how about drying up the jobs here so they will have their own motivation to return home?

"I don't think you can build the highest wall in the world and it will stop them from coming."

Really? How much would it cost to build, say, a high-tech, 20-foot tall/20-foot deep fence along the border, and how much of the illegal immigration would it stop? I'm guessing a lot.

"They're filling jobs that Americans don't want to fill anymore."

Ah, the classic formulation. But says who, and at what wages?

"You can't get high school kids to earn $14-16 to dig ditches and carry bricks and do the hard work. They don't want to do it. They'd rather be at their computer or work in fast food stores."

Really? High school kids won't work for $16/hour and would rather flip burgers for half that? Data please, Tom.

"The other part of it is, we can't do this alone. Mexico has to play a big part of this. And Mexico is not much interested because these illegal immigrants across America are sending back an estimated $8 billion a year. So it's going to take, I think, the good efforts of all parties to get this resolved and Mexico has to be a big piece of that."

Except you just said - and history proves - that Mexico doesn't want to solve the problem. Which makes it our problem. To quote Mark Steyn, this sounds like a job for America, alone.

UPDATE: In claiming that Mexican immigrants remit $8 billion/year to Mexico, Brokaw understates the figure by a factor of three, according to this recent WaPo article. H/T to FReeper TomGuy.

Contact Mark at mark@gunhill.net


richflanj Says:
December 26, 2006 - 08:44
One need only looks at recent headlines to see the intentional flaw in Brokaw's statements. The arrests at Swift opened up more than 1200 employment opportunities that citizens and legal residents didn't hesitate to fill. The way to stop illegal immigration is simple:

ENFORCE THE LAW.

Of course, in a liberal's world, that would be unfair and/or racist.....

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FastEd Says:
December 26, 2006 - 09:09
Mark, thanks again for your Iraq reporting The "immigration problem" is going to be the BIG issue in '07. Problems may come about now that the 'new' congress seems to agree with the president, and establish a guest workers program. This may pass, but it would need to have some requirements for accountablility and penalties for being illegal! I'm thinking that most of our enlightened elected officials will NOT look to require anything, for fear of "hurting" the feelings of those who have broken the law, and what might be considered racial profiling. What they should remember though, is the backlash against the illegals and what they should really fear is the undocumented feelings of the majority of citizens - people know that illegal MEANS not-legal.

Now, let's sit back and hear from the ole tumble weed and how Toomy Brokow is soooo right in his analysis.

There is no sense in being stupid, if you can't prove it! - my dad

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seejay Says:
December 26, 2006 - 09:27
Another media-whore explaining "reality" to us idiots in flyover country.
His media bosses love the fact that 98% of illegal immigrants are Mexicans because to notice this makes us all racists! And a racist is the worst thing in the world right?
Well maybe it's time for the racists! Mexicans swarm our nation and we're not allowed to be angry because they're "Brown People." If they were from Germany I guess it would be OK to resent their invasion because they're from a "White Country!"
What would Mr. Brokaw's handlers tell him to "feel" about someone who wished to put an end to all aid to Africa? Anger! Anger at the racism because those people are Black! And, God forbid, just for the sake of argument, what would Mr. Brokow's position be toward one who would end all aid to Israel? "My God! Antisemitism," because they're Jewish.
How can anyone take these ACTORS seriously? How did we allow showbiz to become the authority on ANYTHING? Personally, I get a little offended by these manipulative frauds and look forward to the day when they are held responsible for the harm they've brought upon our nation.

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The Real Tony Says:
December 26, 2006 - 09:30
So now liberals go from allegedly reporting news to now making news? Brokaw is no expert and if he is reporting, he needs to go back and learn how its done as he's just editorializing.

He's wrong on so many counts. "It's not going to work to send everybody back." Really..how do you know that Tom? This country mobilized millions of people and got them all around the world during WW2. You don't think we can round up and deport 10-20 million back over the border to Mexico in the same time period? He's daft.

Mexico wants and needs those people coming here to keep their economy afloat.

The reason that some teens don't want to work - for ANY wage - is mom and dad, not the job market. These kids get everything they want, when they want it and are handed it to them by mommy and daddy. If mom and dad want to raise their permanent dependents, let them. When mom and dad go, they will either have their inheritance or they will have nothing.

You only have to watch a few episodes of "Dirty Jobs" to see that there is no job in this country that someone won't do for a fair wage, some basic benefits and a chance to move up. Don't believe the pabulum that liberals spew; Americans will do any job necessary.

It's amazing to me that liberals want to keep illegals here anyway. They can't vote(yet) and they are a permanent underclass as long as employers can get away with paying them sub-par wages. Also, since illegals aren't reporting their income, they aren't being taxed. One would think that all that missed tax revenue would have liberals chomping at the bit.

It's very simple and it can be done in the stroke of a pen:

1. Enforce existing immigration laws.

2. Allow border patrol to do their job.

3. Penalties for anyone who hires or houses illegal aliens.

4. Since they are no political refugees, there is no asylum and therefore, daily buses and flights should be sending them back.

5. If a deportee is found back again, impose death penalty.

All of this can be funded by seizing any/all assets acquired through their illegal presence/work in this country, as it is all "ill-gotten gains." (This is currently done with other crimes, such as drug dealing, already.)

It's quite simple and should also be relatively self-supporting and should also create new jobs in this country.

The other most important thing is to pass a law similar to Mexico's regarding "guest workers."

Poof - problem gone.

Politicians and liberals are painting this with the brush that we have a situation we must live with. That is furthest from the truth.

Fight Terrorism at home - defeat a liberal!

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iveseenitall Says:
December 26, 2006 - 09:39
Send Brokaw, Kennedy, the Hollywood actors, the Democrats, and the rest of the MSM to live in the barrio for a week and tell them they have to stay until they do the right thing on immigration. The problem will be solved in a week. Limousine liberals are hypocrites of the first order.

NEVER,NEVER trust a liberal

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donsales Says:
December 26, 2006 - 09:43
Brokaw needs to be deported back to Nebraska.....

Nowhere to Run....Nowhere To Hide.....

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rimsky Says:
December 26, 2006 - 10:01
Whoa there now.. don't go painting Nebraska like some kind of liberal factory or something. If you want to send him someplace, send him to friggin Mexico!

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rimsky Says:
December 26, 2006 - 10:01
Whoa there now.. don't go painting Nebraska like some kind of liberal factory or something. If you want to send him someplace, send him to friggin Mexico!

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acaiguana Says:
December 26, 2006 - 09:56
Brokow is another case of 'arrogant' brain.

This sound more like a lecture than a report. Then again, is this the report, "Iraq Surrender Group' of the MSM on Immigration?

It would take a bit of doing to deport the millions in our country illegally.

Wonder if it would cost more than a fence?

ACA

...

Acaiguana says: "Ya can't win if ya don't play."

Tom Brokjaw -- mouthpiece of CFR.

I am fed up with our government, media and elitists telling us that the good old USA has to bail out everyone in the world!

These people and our government are creating an environment here, amongst their constituents, where we aren't going to take this anymore.

They know not what they do!

So according to Brokaw and Co. we might as well put up a Mexican flag at the White House right now. Is that what he thinks of America and Americans? Hell, if we can't control it then we are no longer a real country.

WHAT ABOUT AMERICA Mr Brokaw?

Stick Mexico's government with a high fee for those remittances and I bet they will discourage it. I wonder if they are collecting taxes or fees on those remittances on their end.

It's the art of persuasion.

If it's too uncomfortable or too difficult people wont do it.

Wonder if they are going to give Americans impacted by illegal aliens equal air time. All the people that have been victims of an illegal alien. People that have been burned out of homes or run out of business.

Dixie

After Cub foods closed, my sons had to scramble harder to find summer and after school jobs. Marie Callenders closed and was replaced by a Mexican restaurant. One Cub employee found a job at a Dollar Tree. Wherever they applied, Mexicans were doing the jobs. KMart, Burger King, etc. etc. all filled with Spanish-speaking people. They were doing the jobs as breadwinners. What do you want to bet that they were telling themseles, "Americans don't want to do these jobs." ? I was in an area famous for its black middle class, and they were fleeing. Their kids couldn't get summer or after school work either. Up where I live now in the mountains, the demographics are 99% white, but the McDonalds and Burger King are staffed with - guess who?

I wonder what WWII vets and others of the greatest generation would think of him promoting the selling out of this country to the globalist CFR agenda? Is this what they fought and died for Mr. Brokaw?

Yes, and that is exactly what it is, selling out the United States of America.