Thread: Poughkeepsie:Illegal immigration a hot topic

Illegal immigration a hot topic

By Michael Woyton • Poughkeepsie Journal • November 10, 2008


The irony isn't lost on many people that for a country founded by immigrants, there is a lot of conversation about whether immigration is good or bad for the United States.
Advertisement

According to Frederick Douglass Opie, associate professor of history at Marist College, it depends on which immigrant group one is talking about and which way its members came to this country.

One group is composed of workers skilled in growth industries such as green technology, medicine and health care, he said. Another consists of those in unskilled jobs, such as landscaping and construction.

"Then you have people who are coming in illegally and undercutting the competition," Opie said.

"The problem with illegal immigration is they come in and are exploited by em-ployers," he said, by paying substandard wages.

Joseph Della Pietro of LaGrange said an uncontrolled influx of illegal immigrants strains social and medical services and schools.

He thinks the worsening economy will have some impact on the flow of people across the border from Mexico.

"As the economy cools down, the need to come north is less attractive," Della Pietro said.

Nonetheless, he said it was unfair to expect him to pay taxes for government services when undocumented workers don't.

"The word illegal means you are breaking the law," Della Pietro said. "Our country has rules, and you have to abide by the rules."

Susie Balutis-Mallory of the City of Poughkeepsie doesn't think deporting millions of undocumented workers to their home country will solve anything in the long term.

"The way the borders are set up right now, it is easy for people to come in," she said.

Balutis-Mallory is president of the Association for Hispanics to Obtain Resources and Assistance. She was not speaking on behalf of the organization, but as a community member.

"The way their economy is, they come here because they have to," Balutis-Mallory said. "They come here out of dire need."

Historically, immigrants have been viewed as problems, no matter where they were from or the color of their skin, Opie said.

Immigrants can be easily exploited, he said, and in the end, the responsibility lies with the employer to provide a living wage.

"Pressure needs to be put on employers, in the form of more fines, for people hiring nondocumented workers," Opie said.
http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/arti ... /811100329

Yes, but this isn't IMMIGRATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's a GD INVASION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For cryin' outloud, there is a very big difference already you friggin' morons.

Not directed at anyone here by the way. Just blowin' off a little steam at the topic. And those in it.