Thread: MA: Bill would tally effect of illegal immigration

Bill would tally effect of illegal immigration

By Casey Ross | Wednesday, November 28, 2007
State lawmakers are pushing for an in-depth study of illegal immigration in Massachusetts, saying the financial and social impacts of an estimated 200,000 undocumented residents are largely being ignored.

“We have a problem and it’s not being addressed,â€

I came to Massachusetts in 1979 I worked in landscaping in 1983 and at the time I was paid 7.50 an hour. I did it for six years. Since 1983 the cost of a two bedroom apartment has gone up by three fold while the pay for a landcaper has remained flat. In 1994 the landlord of the building
had an overgrown back lot. He hired a landscaper from out of the yellow pages. A landscaping truck arrived and a Puerto Rican was dropped off by an American who walked away. For an hour he cleared the lot with a machete and then used a pickaxe to clear stumps. He complained about the situation the entire time. Costs had gone up He was getting steady work at the wage but his boss was billing twice that without doing anything but running an ad and driving. He was not able to get a raise because the contractor had threatened to switch to using day laborers. The rate is still the same and now the Brazilians and Central Americans are most of the business. It was possible to live reasonably well on just 7.50 back then. Now it barely pays the rent for the apartment we Americans or early legal immigrants were used to. There are now way too many illegal aliens in the business. The MIRA Coalition claims to be an immigrant organization but is getting American foundation money and lobbies to protect them from being prosecuted. We do not need a dialogue with illegals or their advocates we need them out.