http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pb ... 90328/1050

Leaders won't take effective action on illegal immigration

October 19, 2006

It must be election time. There are a lot of politicians flapping their lips and wringing their hands about illegal immigration.

Congress is even building a fence. It's a pretty dumb farmer who builds a fence when 12 million cows are already in the corn. Congress and their corporate masters have no intention of stopping illegal immigration. They love their cheap illegal work force, with it's downward pressure on U.S. citizens' wages.

Harvard economics professor George Borjas indicated in a recent lecture that the economic impact of the illegal work force is neutral or slightly positive for the United States as a whole.

The problem is that the illegal work force represents a huge profit for corporate America and the wealthy, and a big loss for working-class Americans.

His research indicates that all workers are impacted, but workers on the low end of the scale, particularly those who haven't finished high school, lose big. Their lost wages, due to the illegal work force, amount to 8.2 percent.

We have laws and a massive criminal-justice industry unwilling to enforce them. How can the average worker fight back when the illegals are lining the pockets of the rich and powerful?

-- Alex Sundberg, Stayton