Thread: NJ: Most Support Letting Aliens Become Legal(NOT)

I do not believe this poll. It was only conducted in Monmouth county and it does not reflect the majority of New Jersians. It is on the front page of the Sunday paper and it is known to give a slanted view in the immigration battle.



Most support letting aliens become legal

N.J. residents divided on impact of immigration


Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 07/29/07
BY MICHELLE SAHN
STAFF WRITER

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New Jersey residents are divided on whether immigration has been good or bad for the state, but a majority support pathways to legal status for some illegal immigrants who are already here, a Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey Poll shows.

"Immigration is a mixed bag for New Jerseyans," said Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute. "It is undeniable that immigrant groups have made significant contributions to the state. But issues around reforming illegal immigration policy raise serious concerns for many residents."

Some 40 percent of state residents said the impact of immigration has been good for New Jersey, while 44 percent said it has been bad. The remaining 16 percent said it either has been both good and bad, or they were unsure about its impact.


Judy Italiano, 64, of Neptune City, said she believes immigration is "not bad," for New Jersey.

"I think they do the jobs that we don't want to do, and it makes (the state) more culturally diverse," she said. "Everything can't stay the same. The world is constantly changing. You need to accept other people."

Italiano believes illegal immigrants should be allowed to stay in the country, but like 92 percent of those polled, she believes those applying for citizenship should be required to learn English.

"I think once they've gone through whatever they have to do to get here, God bless them. If they want to have a job, let them stay," she said.

But Alan Quesnel, 60, of the New Egypt section of Plumsted, believes illegal immigration is a drain on the economy.

"Those folks are not paying taxes," he said. "They're using up resources, sending kids to our school, going to the emergency room. . . . They're just a burden on the rest of society without making a good contribution."

He said he believes illegal immigrants should be deported.

"They don't belong here," Quesnel said. "They came here breaking the law to start with. They don't belong here. Our left-leaning, do-gooder, be big daddy to (the) whole world, big brother society we have here can't afford the additional burden. It's that simple."

The poll found that 69 percent of New Jersey residents think the issue of illegal immigration is a very serious problem for the United States, while 20 percent called it somewhat serious and 11 percent said it was not serious.

But almost two in three state residents — 65 percent — said most illegal immigrants who have worked in the country for at least two years should be given a chance to apply for legal status. Only 30 percent said they should be deported, according to the poll.

Frank Argote-Freyre, a Freehold resident who is the director of the Monmouth County Chapter of the Latino Leadership Alliance of New Jersey, said the most significant figure in the survey was the number of residents who favor an earned path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.

"The poll indicates that those who advocate draconian measures, such as massive deportations, are out of step with the majority of New Jersey residents," he said.

He noted the poll showed about 57 percent of state residents believe illegal immigrants are more likely to take the kind of jobs that Americans do not want. Some 35 percent said those immigrants take jobs away from Americans.

"It used to be that you could get teenagers to shovel the snow from your driveway in the winter," Argote-Freyre said. "Many of the teens on my block are playing computer games or pursuing other electronic diversions in the winter. Inevitably, every morning in the aftermath of a big snowstorm several men with only a minimal grasp of English will knock on my door and offer to shovel my driveway."

The latest Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey Poll was conducted by telephone with 800 New Jersey adults from July 16 to 19. This sample has a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.

The Monmouth University Polling Institute conducted the poll. Gannett New Jersey newspapers are the Asbury Park Press, the Courier-Post, the Home News Tribune, the Courier News, the Daily Record, the Daily Journal and the Ocean County Observer.

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ifiknewthen: agreed.

the washington political establishment will do anything business interests want, included turning the other way and whistling while the immigrant worker population grew. slave wages = undercutting the competition. all the walmart shoppers love it until the workers that enable these prices move next door. then and only then is there a 'problem'.

also, the high tech/medical influx isn't always on the up-and-up either:

"Because H-1B visas are good from three to six years, the number of H-1B foreign workers in the country at any point is the sum of those who have been admitted and remained within the last six years. In 2002, there were an estimated 710,000 H-1B holders in the United States. Although the H-1B program is meant to provide companies with labor unavailable in this country, no evidence exists of a worker shortage; to the contrary, the market is filled with laid off, unemployed American high tech workers.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that six percent of people in computer and mathematical occupations were unemployed in April 2003, or 194,000 people (a 25 percent jump from the 4.8 percent unemployment rate for the same time a year earlier). Overall high tech unemployment went from two percent in November 2001 to 5.5 percent one year later, and among computer programmers it went from 1.7 percent to 7.8 percent. The high tech industry employed ten percent fewer people in December 2002 than it did in January 2001. Given the economic downturn and wider pool of available candidates, H-1B numbers should have fallen dramatically—but no such decrease has occurred.

Simply having a large influx of workers into the industry floods the labor market and drives down wages. Study after study shows that H-1B workers are paid lower wages than their American counterparts, driving down the prevailing wage: A UCLA study found that H-1B engineers were paid 33 percent less than comparable U.S. citizens. A Cornell University study found that H-1B programmers and engineers were underpaid by 20 to 30 percent. An INS report found that the computer-related H-1B employees were paid a median salary 25 percent less than the national median for their field. A National Research Council report found that "H-1B workers requiring lower levels of high tech skill received lower wages, less senior job titles, smaller signing bonuses, and smaller pay and compensation increases than would be typical for the work they did." It also found that H-1Bs have an adverse impact on overall wage levels. The Independent Computer Consultants Association reports that the use of cheaper foreign labor has forced down the hourly rates of U.S. consultants by as much as ten to 40 percent.

Nothing in the law regulating H-1B visas requires employers to hire U.S. citizens first or lay them off last. As a result, legions of high tech workers report receiving pink slips while the H-1B workers in the cubicles next to them kept their jobs. Only a few employers, basically those termed 'body shops', and classified as "H-1B dependent," must certify that American workers have not been and will not be displaced within a 90-day period.

The AFL-CIO contends that companies are actively choosing to lay off U.S. workers instead of H-1Bs."

http://www.fairus.org/site/PageServer?p ... enters593f

Posted by: rusty charlie on Sun Jul 29, 2007 2:03 pm

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The real problem is that the govenment allowed illegals to remain in the country. They ignored our immigration laws. Now you have them by the millions and it's a huge problem. They saw this happening and did nothing about it. They let the problem get out of control. Do we have the resources to round up all illegals and deport them? What about the children born is this country and granted automatice citizenship? The only way to remedy the problem is by cutting out the source of funds. Severe penalties, including jail time for repeat offenders, for employers who hire illegals would be enforceable and dry up the well. We could use INS, IRS, and State agencies to monitor hiring of illegals. No work, no money, no incentive to sneak into the country.

Posted by: IfIknewthen on Sun Jul 29, 2007 1:36 pm

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This poll is about as correct as saying the Pope is NOT Catholic.

Posted by: appalled on Sun Jul 29, 2007 12:50 pm

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OK, I finally figured out where they took this poll. They took it by talking to people in downtown Lakewood on a Saturday at 12:00 noon. Now I understand how it turned out this way. Seriously, who actually believes this poll is correct?

Posted by: Gill Bates on Sun Jul 29, 2007 12:43 pm

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The US already have immigration laws in place. I cannot understand why they cannot be applied to this group of illegal immigrants.

Every nurse, computer engineer, pharma scientist, doctor, and other professionals who have come to America from India, China, Philippines, Russia, Israel, and the like have to go through numerous hoops to gain legal working status alone (not citizenship yet).

First, their prospective employers here have to prove to the Department of Immigration that these imports will not be taking away jobs from American citizens. Then the applicants show proof that they have at least 2 years of professional experience in their country of origin. They also have to take US licensing exams, board exams, TOEFL exams (Test of English as a Second Language), and other requirements. All of these for a 2 year work permit, renewable up to six years.

Why are we finding ways to make it easier for illegal immigrants/laborers to gain legal status? Why are we favoring them instead? Is it because they come from a large voting bloc?

Why are we making the professionals go through the eye of the needle and the laborers are given a path paved with gold?

One law should apply to all.

Posted by: phil3 on Sun Jul 29, 2007 12:12 pm




http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/articl ... /707290403

Frank Argote-Freyre, a Freehold resident who is the director of the Monmouth County Chapter of the Latino Leadership Alliance of New Jersey, said the most significant figure in the survey was the number of residents who favor an earned path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.

"The poll indicates that those who advocate draconian measures, such as massive deportations, are out of step with the majority of New Jersey residents," he said.

He noted the poll showed about 57 percent of state residents believe illegal immigrants are more likely to take the kind of jobs that Americans do not want. Some 35 percent said those immigrants take jobs away from Americans.

"It used to be that you could get teenagers to shovel the snow from your driveway in the winter," Argote-Freyre said. "Many of the teens on my block are playing computer games or pursuing other electronic diversions in the winter. Inevitably, every morning in the aftermath of a big snowstorm several men with only a minimal grasp of English will knock on my door and offer to shovel my driveway."

I don't agree with that opinion at all. My son and all American teenagers will shovel snow in the winter.

The American People deserve better than being subjected to the outrageous propaganda written in this article! Over 80% of the American People were against that dumb a** immigration bill, oh but of course except people in NJ?

This is the most critical issue we have ever faced as it involves our ability to maintain our national sovereignty, a big part of which is NATIONAL IDENTITY. If this continues, it will not mean anything to be an American anymore, if it means anything now.

I guess now that we all know about North American Union, we know what it is all actually about. Complete and total loss of our nation, and once that happens, we'll never get it back.